Grand Vendetta
by Verok
Summary: Lu Xun is sent to Shu to arrange a marriage between SSX and Liu Bei. Things get complicated when Zhou Yu tries to assassinate Liu Bei, forcing Lu Xun to choose between duty to country and personal honor. *NEW CHAPTER*
1. Unkept Promises

Grand Vendetta

Synopsis: Sun Shang Xiang is to marry Liu Bei to secure a Southern alliance against Cao Cao, and Lu Xun is charged with making the marriage happen. Zhou Yu, however, bitter over Liu Bei's conquest of Jing, schemes to wreck the marriage in any way possible and to kill Liu Bei. Lu Xun, forced to choose between duty to country and personal honor, finds that it is difficult for one to reconcile ambition and integrity.

This story is a rather strange hybrid. It combines the personalities of the characters as portrayed in Koei's Dynasty Warriors series with a storyline inspired by Luo Guanzhong's _Romance of the Three Kingdoms._ Certain historical inaccuracies are deliberate: Sun Jian and Sun Ce, of course, should not be alive, and Lu Xun at this point in time is not yet a top-ranked officer or strategist. Other story developments also will not reflect the history or the novel. I take artistic license here and there only because it opens up richer possibilities for character development - and this is a very character-driven story. I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: The characters belong not to me but to KOEI's DW series, which in turn takes credit from Luo Guanzhong's novel.

Note: Readers who are familiar with this story may have realized that earlier chapters have changed. I'm systematically replacing the original versions of chapters written in 2003 with edited versions that reflect my current standard of writing. A few of the changes are factual (no more Japanese honorifics, for example), but most of the changes are intended to streamline the dialogue, provide more momentum to the story and remove a few instances of overly-silly humor. If you are interested in reading the older versions, just contact me and I'll be very happy to send you the original files.

OoOoOoOoOo

I: Unkept Promises

"Well, tell me. What did they say?"

Lu Su fidgeted under the unwavering gaze of his superior, Zhou Yu. Normally a calm and gracious man, the latter today glared at Lu Su with haggard eyes – driven to madness by the thing that he had struggled with ever since coming into contact with the Shu.

"They promised to return the province of Jing once they succeed in conquering Sichuan," Lu Su stammered, holding up a snow-white handkerchief tainted with neatly inked black characters. "This is the contract of honor, signed by both Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang."

Zhou Yu leapt up from his chair, stalked to where Lu Su stood, and snatched the handkerchief from his assistant. His black eyes scanned the document, up and down, left and right, turning each character over in his mind to check for any hidden meanings. Then, with a curse, he crumpled the contract up and chucked it vehemently on the floor.

"We'll do this, then we'll return Jing province," he said, beginning to pace. "We'll do that, then we'll return Jing province." He stopped and threw his arms up. "How many times do they have to renege on their promises, the stupid Shu, before they actually consent to repaying the debt they owe us? We've been arm-wrestling with them ever since Chibi – we gave Jing to them as a deposit, and they agreed to return it if Cao Cao was defeated. Well then, Cao Cao's suffered loss after loss, and they haven't shown any inclination to return it. Then they propose another deal stating that they'd honor their words once they've attained some more territory from Wei. Following that Zhuge Liang conquered five cities – Qui, Ling, An, Chang, and Wuling – in three weeks, and they still couldn't bring themselves to hand our land over. Then they tell us that we'd get Jing back once its governor, Liu Qi, died. Liu Qi's funeral was a month ago, which was exactly why I sent you, Lu Su, to remind them of their parade of promises. And now – _again_– you've been conned by that _hateful_ Zhuge Liang!"

Lu Su wrung his hands in mortification.

"But Liu Bei is a man of honor - I don't think he'd break his oath this time – chased by Cao Cao, having only a small piece of territory to call his – he's under a lot of pressure, sir! Sichuan is much larger than Jing, and I'm sure once he's gotten his hands on _that_, he'd be content to fill out his part of the contract."

"That's the only problem with you," said Zhou Yu, anguished, returning to his desk and throwing himself into his chair. "You're too damn nice, Lu Su, and too gullible. You take everyone at face value. Well let me tell you: Liu Bei might be a man of honor, but only in _your_ eyes. Even if he tries to conquer Sichuan, what if he doesn't succeed at first? What if he doesn't succeed in a year – five years – ten years? Then they'll just keep Jing for those next five, ten years! How are we ever to get it back?"

Lu Su wanted the ground to swallow him whole. Being a terribly sensitive person, this entire round of abuse had convinced him that all the friction between Shu and Wu on the subject of Jing was his fault.

Zhou Yu saw the humiliation on his assistant's face and waved a hand vaguely, as if to absolve him from his mistakes. "Actually," he resumed, in an oddly broken voice, "the fault is really mine. It's my job to know everyone I work with, and I knew it wouldn't have been best to send someone as soft and generous as you. I should have picked someone less credulous…"

"And more aggressive?"

The high, singular voice made both Zhou Yu and Lu Su jump. Prince Sun Quan stood at the door of the study, a strangely sullen expression on his face.

Zhou Yu jumped up from his chair and saluted. Lu Su bowed respectfully, thankful that Sun Quan had shown up at the last moment and deflected his superior's withering attention from him.

"Is there anything that I can do for you, your highness?"

"Not really," muttered Sun Quan, edging into the room. "I've just dropped by to inform you two about something."

"About what?" asked Zhou Yu and Lu Su in the same breath.

Sun Quan opened his mouth, poised to speak, but froze and let out a long breath. When he did finally speak, it was as if after a long struggle:

"Father has finalized my sister's engagement."

The room was silent with shock.

"No – no way," Zhou Yu stammered. "_That_ suddenly? Did he modify or edit the terms at all?"

"Didn't change anything. He just approved it a few moments ago. I think he's now appointing an envoy to relay the contract – and if that carries through, Shang Xiang will be married within a few weeks."

Zhou Yu slowly sought the back of his chair for support.

"That isn't possible. Something _must_ be different - "

"I repeat, Pa didn't change anything. It's still the terms that were set before Chibi – a full year ago, in fact, and terribly out of date."

"Sun Shang Xiang…marrying _Liu Bei_." Zhou Yu took deep breaths. "I don't believe it. We're forcing the princess to stoop down to a man of _his_ stature, even after what he's done to us?"

Sun Quan's face blackened with anger. "You're right it makes no damn sense – but it's politics, I guess, and as Pa says, feelings are irrelevant -"

"But I do hope you've at least tried to talk your father out of it - "

"What do you think I _could_ have done?" roared Sun Quan, swelling with rage. "I begged, I implored, I pleaded, I even cried in front of the entire Cabinet assembled, but Pa's word was final. And now he's sent me down this way to tell Shang Xiang of his decision, but I've stopped in here for a few minutes because I wanted to tell you first, and because I don't think I have the guts to be the bearer of this sort of news for my baby sister. I love her too much, Yu, and you know I can't stand seeing her cry – much less being carted off to some western wasteland to be the wife of a mat weaver!"

Zhou Yu took this tirade without flinching. He loved Sun Shang Xiang as a sister too, and the pain at this news had numbed him.

"When are the negotiations with Shu going to take place?" he asked quietly, trying to remain professional. "Is there any reason to believe that Shu would accept this offer?"

"Negotiations begin tomorrow," muttered Sun Quan, forcefully stuffing a loose lock of hair behind his ear. "That is, if an envoy has been appointed yet for this mission. And it better be an ineloquent one, for I would like more than anything else for this miserable parade to fall through."

In the same moment, both he and Zhou Yu turned their eyes to Lu Su, who, in turn, shrank against the wall.

"We won't be sending you though, sure as rain," reassured Zhou Yu. "You're so eloquent that people don't give into your demands anymore, you go along with _their_ demands." Then, to Sun Quan: "And who do you think Sun Jian would appoint as envoy?"

"I dunno," replied Sun Quan, gazing up at the ceiling.

Then his eyes widened in horror.

"I do remember him talking to – but no, it can't be – "

"Me," rang a third voice, young and bright – and a boy, clad in red brocade silk lined with ermine, skirted Sun Quan and walked to Zhou Yu's desk, his golden boots clicking smartly. He had short brown hair, unlike Sun Quan's dark red or Zhou Yu's jet, and was so short in comparison to the other two that even with his hat he could not top the bare head of either.

Sun Quan squeezed his eyes shut; Zhou Yu's mouth dropped in horrified shock.

"_You_?"

"Yes, me," answered Lu Xun nonchalantly, eyeing the comical expressions around him with faint amusement. "What then?" he coaxed. "So used to me being an evil strategist that you simply can't picture me as a cordial, charismatic diplomat?"

"Why did Pa choose _you_ to be the matchmaker?" said Sun Quan. "This court doesn't have a shortage of career diplomats!"

"It really defeats me," replied Lu Xun, shrugging. "But the job's now mine, at any rate, and I have to do the best I can. Aren't you supposed to be informing Shang Xiang?"

"Don't want to," muttered Sun Quan, "I want to waste as much time as possible before I have to do it."

"When do you leave, Boyan?" asked Zhou Yu.

"First thing tomorrow morning. Liu Bei's in Caisang, you know, only thirty miles downstream from us. I'll float there, get everything worked out and hopefully paddle back in time for dinner."

Everyone in the room - even Lu Su – narrowed his eyes. Everyone in the court of Sun Jian had a special place in their hearts for their vivacious, fiery-haired princess, and it seemed from the tone of nonchalance with which Lu Xun spoke that he didn't really care what befell Sun Shang Xiang.

"Well, General Lu Xun, what is your opinion of this alliance?" asked Sun Quan, in a voice of admirably forced calm. "You seem to sound as if you weren't much objected to it."

"No, I'm not," replied Lu Xun coolly, an eyebrow raised. Had it not been for the peculiar timbre of his voice – a clear brassiness that radiated naïveté and forthrightness – his listeners would have taken him to be impertinent. "Hasn't a Sun-Liu alliance been at the top of our list of priorities all last year? If you wish to counter Cao Cao, who still happens to be our biggest threat, this alliance is the best – actually, the only way - to come about it."

An indignant exclamation issued from Zhou Yu.

"If Liu Bei regards us as an ally, he sure isn't acting like it! After all the aid we gave him when he was on the run from the Monster of the North, towing thousands of frightened peasants, having only a few hundred soldiers in escort - "

"Ah," said Lu Xun. "Jing province."

"Precisely."

"If it's causing you that much of a headache – "

"You mean _all_ of us a headache," Sun Quan added venomously.

" - then I think you ought to simply put an end to this feud and let Liu Bei have it."

No one could ever have expected Lu Xun – so proper, careful, and in every sense patriotic – to speak like this to his prince and his superior officer. Each of them rounded on him furiously - even Lu Su, who seldom entered scuffles.

"Boyan, how could you – "

"They've trampled on us and thrown away their own promises!"

"Are you mad? To let them acquire such an important district without any payment on their part!"

"That remark can be construed as treason, if looked at the right way," Sun Quan growled.

Lu Xun bristled slightly under this onslaught, but kept his composure.

"Have all of you forgotten? They _did_ render us a service – Zhuge Liang worked day and night with you the weeks before Chibi, Gonjin, to come up with our strategy to defeat Cao Cao!"

"Yes, but – "

"If Liu Bei didn't lend his men and his generals as well, we would have been run over all the same by Wei! If you ever want to keep the alliance you've made, so we could stand a chance against Wei, this is your chance to strengthen it. Give them Jing, and if in the future Wei ever decides to attack us, they will assist us in our defense! Sun Shang Xiang might not even have to marry Liu Bei anymore!"

Lu Xun glared at all of them, flushing with passionate righteousness.

"That's not going to happen," said Sun Quan sourly. "Sun Jian thinks highly of Liu Bei. He would never think of leaving Shang Xiang to become an old maid, and both he and she agree that nothing short of a ruler would do as her husband. Cao Cao is out of the question. That leaves Liu Bei as the only choice."

"Then," said Lu Xun, "if our lord is so intent upon marrying Sun Shang Xiang to Liu Bei, he can have his way, but then demand Jing back as the marriage price –"

"Which I don't think Liu Bei would consent to," snapped Zhou Yu. "As long as that dratted Zhuge Liang stays fanning at his side, that is."

Silence reigned uncomfortably as strategist, prince, diplomat and protégé glared uneasily at each other.

"Well, I do have to make my trip tomorrow," Lu Xun said at length. "And if my Lord wishes it so, I shall try my very best to negotiate the treaty. For now, we can argue, wheedle, compromise – but we can't stop everything."

He turned to Sun Quan, who was now no longer angry or dejected, but simply resigned.

"So – are you going to tell your sister, or are you not?"

"I suppose I can't avoid telling her," replied Quan, more miserable than ever, "so I'll just tell her. If you jump out of your skin later on, though, don't tell me you weren't warned."

With these words, he billowed out of the room in a swell of red and green satin. Lu Xun stared after him in confusion.

"What does he mean, that we'll jump out of our skin later?"

"He means that Shang Xiang's going to scream," said Zhou Yu.


	2. The Plan Is Hatched

Grand Vendetta: Chapter Two

II: The Plan Is Hatched

She did scream – a long wail that froze courtiers and servants passing in the hallway outside her boudoir. Moments later, it was said, Sun Quan erupted into the hallway, hands covering his face, hurtling as fast as possible toward the sanctuary of his own quarters. The scream and the Prince's flight caused quite a stir amongst those who had witnessed it, but everyone knew better than to discuss it after the shock had worn off: to be caught gossiping about members of the Sun family entailed strict punishment.

Ten minutes after that disturbance, the trumpets in the Long Gallery proclaimed dinnertime, and there was a general movement of people toward the back regions of the Palace, where the communal dining areas were situated. The Court of Sun Jian was famous for its organization and the orderliness of its business, and dining was no exception: all the servants ate in one communal area, the Palace guards in an adjoining chamber; officials and their staff took their meals one level up in the main Banquet Hall. Wu's Privy Cabinet, however – administrators of the First Class and generals with three or more stars – ate in the magnificent private dining quarters of the Sun family. Since it was a warm summer evening, dinner was moved to the Belvedere immediately outside, overlooking the River.

Sun Jian, contrary to royal practice, came to meals early; his tablemates accordingly arrived early as well out of respect. Today, however, his most exalted – and most punctual – guests were late; by the time all were assembled, the second course would already have been underway. His children were the last of all to arrive, and when they did there was a general hush: the damp flush on Shang Xiang's face, and the pallor of her brothers' countenances, all insinuated a violent, and recent, domestic spat.

"Please be seated," said Sun Jian to the assembly, and the rustle of silk on fur mats followed as everyone sank to the floor.

The meal commenced in eerie quietness. Usually dinner was a boisterous, animated affair, but Shang Xiang, the most loquacious of them all, glared at her plate in silence. The Qiao sisters refused to converse, out of respect for her misery; the strategists could not think of anything topic of conversation that would not remind them either of the Jing fiasco or of the engagement. Any attempt at levity was quashed by the sight of the princess's raw face. Thus dinner continued, the clink of utensils against the expansive sigh of the river, nervousness and malaise mounting until the casual appearance of Zhang Zhao, Wu's ambassador general, froze all movement.

"Ah…ahem," coughed Zhang Zhao. "Forgive me if I've startled you all - it seems oddly quiet today here."

He stared at the assembly. Fifteen glazed pairs of eyes stared back at him.

"Which is why I am about to thank you for breaking the silence," said Sun Jian amicably. "What can I do for you?"

"The members of my staff are all abuzz – is it true the Princess has been engaged to the ruler of Shu?"

All heads turned in one swift ripple toward Sun Shang Xiang. She remained perfectly still.

"I congratulate you," said Sun Jian lightly, "for having staffers so…talented at collecting rumors. Politics can wait for another time, but we are pleased to have your company. Will you join us?"

A valet instantly appeared with an extra chair and table and disappeared just as quickly.

"You are very kind, sire," said Zhang Zhao, "but you must forgive me for my impertinence. I hear that negotiations are to begin tomorrow for this…alliance…and I wish to offer you my earnest counsel on this matter before then."

Sun Jian raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. Three tables down, Lu Xun put his utensils down, his appetite suddenly gone.

Taking Sun Jian's silence as an invitation to continue, Zhang Zhao asked:

"If I may be so bold, my lord, is it necessary to strengthen our alliance with Liu Bei through marriage?"

If before everyone was determined to pretend not to hear Zhang Zhao, they no longer were: eating ceased completely as everyone stared unabashedly at him.

"Why do you ask?" said Sun Jian, an edge beginning to develop in his calm voice.

"I do not foresee Liu Bei remaining perpetually friendly with us. Marrying the Princess off to him will only extend the alliance somewhat - it will not make it permanent."

"I propose marriage just so that I can ensure its permanence!"

"Indeed, my lord, but history teaches us otherwise about the success of marriage-based alliances. Begging your pardon…"

He trailed off, not knowing whether to go on or not.

"Yes?" growled Sun Jian.

Zhang Zhao's trained voice remained as steady as ever, but his hands began to shake slightly.

"Women, begging your pardon sire, are but tokens. They are powerless to stop conflicts between their husbands and their families. I do not think, sire, that you would want for your daughter to have to choose between her family and her husband – "

"How dare you!" roared Sun Jian.

"She is your only daughter!" cried Zhang Zhao. "I beg you to reconsider – "

A resounding crash cut him short. Sun Shang Xiang had leapt to her feet, her table overturned and dinner shattered on the floor.

"Shang Xiang!" cried Sun Jian.

The princess faced him defiantly, about to explode with fury.

"It's insulting enough that you have to talk about me as if I were some parcel to give away. But if you want to discuss me, or whom I'm to marry and why, do so out of my presence!"

Before Sun Jian could say another word, she had stormed back indoors. The shocked silence that followed was painful.

"I think," muttered Sun Ce, turning to his ashen brother, "that fighting Cao Cao on our own would be easier."

OoOoOoOoOo

It was midnight, and still Lu Xun could not bring himself to sleep. After Zhang Zhao's spectacular – albeit well-intentioned – faux pas at dinner, no one had found it possible to eat anymore, let alone talk, and the meal had terminated after half an hour, something unheard of when Sun Jian thought it the most important event of the day. Neither did anyone stay together to make small talk or plans for tomorrow. Sun Shang Xiang confined herself to her room and did not open her door even to admit a pair of pleading brothers; the generals had all mysteriously separated, unwilling to converse with each other; and Sun Jian, the poor father, had retired to his quarters, probably to brood over the unhappy state of his daughter. Zhou Yu was nowhere to be found. Lu Xun himself headed back to Zhou Yu's office and buried himself in paperwork – scrawling more notes on Wu's current political situation, reviewing the latest personnel and supply reports, and reading the latest dispatches from the front lines against Wei. When he thought he could no longer take the sight of battle diagrams, he withdrew to his suite to read. Instead of calming him down, however, the reading irritated him. He then tried to sleep, but the specters of the day's events and the humidity of the summer night continued to torture him until he sat up on his bed, painfully awake, sweating in his thin silk robe and craving madly for a fan.

There was no fan to be found within sight. Without even throwing on a thicker robe, he leapt off his bed and left his quarters, hoping it would be cooler in the larger and loftier main Palace.

The halls were dark and empty. Torches here and there cast flickering shadows on the vast walls. Their hazy, orange glow seemed only to give the impression of more heat, if possible: so Lu Xun decided, after some restless pacing, to head for the gardens. To hell with the curfew: he was in high enough favor with the Sun Family to not care about being charged with a little misdemeanor.

The garden was dim but magnificent in the moonless dark, and the cool air was pleasant shock to Lu Xun. Eagerly he sought the nearest pavilion, thinking the garden empty; but to his great surprise, he found the first one in his path occupied by the Qiao sisters and a coterie of ladies-in-waiting, strumming zithers and singing boisterously. Lu Xun smiled at the sight but skirted them as surreptitiously as possible: the last time he'd happened on one of the Qiaos' musical contests, he had been made to stay until he'd sung _Ode to a Peony_ – an experience made even more mortifying by his utter tone-deafness.

More company awaited him down the path – Gan Ning and Ling Tong, idly playing cards by a fountain, and past the zig-zag colonnade, Sun Jian himself, sprawled on a wicker cabana, one hand armed with a palmetto fan and the other holding a scroll. The book was apparently very interesting, and Lu Xun passed close enough to the ruler to make out its title – Sun Tzu's _Art of War_ – before retreating and disappearing behind the nearest row of hedges. So the gardens were far from empty. Not to worry: Lu Xun knew that the palace grounds were big enough for everybody, and there was sure to be some quiet corner into which he could retreat.

Twenty minutes later, after much twisting and turning on meandering paths, Lu Xun was absolutely certain he had tread into uninhabited territory. The trees had grown tall enough here to bend over and tent the walks, masking and trapping the meager starlight in its thick brambles; and beyond he could barely make out, in the gloom, a smooth expanse and the jagged silhouettes around it – a lake and its bordering pagodas. It seemed dark and private enough here for Lu Xun's taste, and pleasantly colder and quieter than the rest of the grounds, none of the bubbling of streams or crashing of waterfalls that serenaded the gardens closest to the palace. The dark ridges of a staircase loomed before him at the end of the path; carefully, minding his flimsy slippers, he ascended until his feet hit a wooden deck. Inconveniently for him, though, it was pitch black here, and the railing had disappeared as soon as the stairs ended. Stretching his arms before him like a blind man, Lu Xun advanced inch by inch, groping about for the seat of a bench or a pillar -

"Care to join us, Boyan?"

Lu Xun yelped loudly, and in the same instant his foot met solid resistance, sending him head over heels onto something warm and soft. His landing mat yelped and shifted, triggering a rush of blood to his cheeks.

"Afraid of the dark, Boyan?" lilted a third voice. "Then I'll oblige you. I have a matchbox."

A single flame hissed to life, casting an uncertain glow on the faces of Zhou Yu, Sun Quan and Sun Ce. A table before them bore a tea service and platters of pastries and fruit. Lu Xun twisted around and saw that the thing he had tripped over was Zhou Yu's long legs, which were outstretched. Mercifully he had missed the desserts, but as he stood up he realized, mortified, that the warm, soft thing he had fallen spread-eagled into was Sun Quan's lap.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed, slightly peeved by the way the three were reveling in his red face.

"We were about to ask you," said Sun Quan, his eyes as keen as gems.

"Have a seat," said Zhou Yu, gesturing at the empty chair next to him.

"And don't stand there staring like a fool," snapped Sun Ce. "My match is running out."

Lu Xun sank into the chair, and Ce tossed the match onto the deck and stamped it out. A small, dark trail of smoke floated up and dissipated in eerie silence.

"Why…are you out here?" Xun asked, after an uncomfortable moment. He received no reply. "Am I interrupting something?"

Sun Quan, Sun Ce, and Zhou Yu looked at each other.

"Yes – " said Sun Quan

"No – " said Zhou Yu, in the same breath.

"Not really," said Sun Ce. "We were just chatting before you came. Three friends catching up."

"On the far side of the grounds?" muttered Lu Xun, raising an eyebrow.

The other three exchanged another look: Lu Xun was of course too sharp to believe such an excuse.

"How's the situation at He Fei?" said Zhou Yu, before Lu Xun could ask any more questions.

"Still in the balance – for the moment. Only two reports have come in this entire evening, but things probably won't change drastically before morning. Looks like Wei hasn't really put its back into the fight yet."

Zhou Yu grunted wordlessly.

"And are you out here escaping work?" lilted Ce.

Lu Xun flushed. "N-no! I was doing paperwork until midnight; I just came here for a breath of –"

Ce's loud laugh cut him short.

"Re-_lax_; I was just busting your chops. We all know how much of a workaholic you are. Gonjin here, though," he nudged Zhou Yu, "wishes he could escape his work so easily."

Though he could see nothing except a few dark silhouettes, Lu Xun could feel Zhou Yu shoot an ugly look at Ce. It took him rather longer to realize what Ce was alluding to: Jing province and Shang Xiang's engagement.

_Not again_, he thought, exasperated; he was sick of the subject.

"Look, there's no use worrying about it now. Until I've seen Liu Bei, we can't do anything about the matter."

"Which is what I've been trying to tell Gonjin all evening," said Ce. With that he clapped a hand on Zhou Yu's shoulder and shook him gently. "Just _chill_. You'll take a few years off your life by fretting like this. Me, I'm sick of politics too. Let's talk about other things! And look at all this food - Lu Xun, help yourself to a cake; you haven't touched a single thing on this table yet and my pig of a brother has already enjoyed three of them – "

"Because I ate nothing at dinner," said Quan testily, through a mouthful of (a fourth) cake, "on account of our poor sister. You would have to excuse my gluttony, dear brother."

"Well, true. We are all half-starved. You must eat too, Gonjin. You haven't touched any of the date cakes – they used to disappear as soon as they were put in front of you!"

Zhou Yu smiled half-heartedly but did not move.

"What's wrong?" asked Lu Xun earnestly – sitting next to an indisposed person made him uneasy as well, and he was not sure how much more malaise he could take today. "Tell me. If it's He Fei, I'll get back to work now – "

"It's not He Fei," said Zhou Yu gruffly. "I just want to know, Boyan, if you are honestly prepared to let Liu Bei have Jing."

Ce opened his mouth indignantly at the broach of the subject. Lu Xun, however, compelled to answer – carefully, of course.

"Not for _good_," he said slowly, "but for the time being I don't see how we can get it back without resorting to bloodshed or trickery."

"So you _do_ think Jing rightfully belongs to us."

Lu Xun said nothing, but swore inwardly: Zhou Yu had trapped him.

"I think Boyan has a point though," sighed Ce, flinging the last dregs of cold tea into the nearest bushes in frustration – he was resigned to the idea of more political talk. "We can't get Jing back _now_. Any attempt will be a waste of manpower in addition to a sizable blunder."

"Gonjin and I beg to differ," Quan retorted.

"With respect, you're not always reasonable, and Gonjin's an overachiever," Ce countered. "We're not in any immediate danger. The political situation won't degenerate if we wait a few months. Added to that I'm not sure you want act against Pa's wishes –"

"Pa's getting old," said Quan pointedly, "and he never said that we ought to do nothing."

Lu Xun shivered. There was a peculiar, raw edge to Quan's voice that turned his insides cold.

"I'm determined to have Jing back only because I cannot abide the way Liu Bei has treated us," declared Zhou Yu, before Ce could hit back at Quan and turn the conversation into a full-blown argument. "If he had won it fair and square from us I'd be angry at myself for being stupid enough to lose it – not at him."

"But Gonjin, you have to understand where Liu Bei's coming from," Ce said pointedly. "For all his titles and the talented people swarming around him, he's still a man of low birth – a shoemaker, the story goes. Jing is pretty much all he has. To us, it's just another province in the Southland. Why bother fighting with a man with nothing to lose? If we do have a shortage of land – which we really don't – we ought to get it from the north, and hurt Cao Cao all the more by that."

"I disagree," said Zhou Yu indignantly. "Since when were rulers compelled to overlook the interests of their own country in favor of others'? Liu Bei _is_ a threat to us, however much everyone goes on about him having been crucial to our victory at Chi Bi. He'll have to be dealt with someday – and the sooner he is dealt with the easier he is to get rid of."

"Amen," muttered Quan.

"And how will you go about 'dealing' with Liu Bei?" asked Lu Xun. His voice was level, but his heart had begun to thump quite loudly: Zhou Yu's icy words portended something ill in his mind.

"Ideally, I would keep Jing Province _and_ Princess Shang Xiang," said Zhou Yu. "And I would not bring it about by negotiation, either. Liu Bei needs to be taught a memorable and painful lesson."

Silence followed this pronouncement. The three listeners sat uneasily, each turning Zhou Yu's phrases over in his mind. Lu Xun fingered the honey cake on his plate, but could not bring himself to put it in his mouth: though he had hardly eaten dinner, the prospect of Zhou Yu starting a whole new war with Liu Bei made the thought of food at this moment revolting.

"I don't think it will happen," he declared finally, looking squarely at his superior.

"Well, you never know," quipped Ce – jokingly, perhaps, but one was never sure with him. "Liu Bei might be so revolted at the notion of marriage that he'd return Jing in exchange for the privilege of staying single."

"Gentlemen, please!" shouted Zhou Yu. "Have you no faith in my abilities? Or love for your country, for that matter? Give me time to think. I'll think of a plan – a plan to correct all the injustices we've received."

"But Gonjin – "

"Shut up, Boyan," snapped Quan. "Let him think."

They waited and waited, the silence pressing upon their ears like the quiet roar of water. Lu Xun did not know which was more torturous – waiting for Zhou Yu to come up with his plan, or thinking about the sort of plan he would come up with. Having worked under Zhou Yu for years, he knew just how much time Wu's premier strategist required to fashion his plans. Days – weeks – months, in Chi Bi's case – and too many times Lu Xun had been left managing Zhou Yu's office as the latter sat still as a statue in a chair by the window, thinking, thinking, thinking. But for all his impatience he did not know if he wanted Zhou Yu ever to arrive at a plan this time. The more frustrated Zhou Yu was, the crueler his designs became – and Lu Xun had never seen Zhou Yu this frustrated before.

After an indeterminate amount of time, when Lu Xun reckoned that the stars overhead had shifted positions, Zhou Yu finally muttered something unintelligible and stirred.

"I have it," he said quietly.

The others leapt up and, drawn by the quiet determination in his voice, leaned closer to him.

"Out with it," breathed Ce.

Zhou Yu swept his brilliant eyes from one shadowy face to another.

"If Liu Bei is to marry Shang Xiang," he began, "he will have to make his obeisance to Sun Jian at some point – if not also to you, Ce, and you, Quan."

"And what of it?" asked Quan.

"We can ask Liu Bei to travel to Jian Ye for the ceremonies, and _that's_ how we get him. He will be amongst our generals, living behind the lines of our armies. The wedding plans will only be a pretext for his visit. As soon as he arrives we will bind him up and throw him and whomever that dares accompany him in the dungeons – as a hostage – and demand of Shu that they hand over Jing. Or otherwise…we shall…"

He quickly drew a finger across his throat.

"And if all goes well and is kept secret from your father," he concluded, his voice trembling with suppressed excitement as he addressed the Sun brothers, "Shang Xiang shall never be married."

A vast silence followed. Each listener bore a different reaction to Zhou Yu's proposal; Sun Quan froze, his mind still struggling to process what he had heard; Lu Xun collapsed in his chair, stunned; and Sun Ce lost all joviality and sank in his seat.

"Zhou Yu," said the last, in a surprisingly flat and stern voice, "I don't think this'll work."

"Nor do I," Lu Xun, feeling cold sweat start on his brow. "It's crazy."

"It's brilliant, you fools," said Quan eagerly.

"It's stupid!" cried Ce.

"What do you mean, _stupid_? It solves all our problems in one fell swoop!"

"How about 'creates even more problems for us'?" sputtered Ce, nearly apoplectic. "Even if it works – and I'd bet my life it won't – can you really expect Liu Bei to forgive us for ransoming him once we've gotten Jing back?"

"Oh, we won't ever have to deal with that possibility," said Zhou Yu smoothly. "Liu Bei is good as dead once he falls into our custody, regardless of whether his government decides to accept our terms or not. From the way they profess to love him, they probably will accept them. If not, no problem: even without Jing we will still get our revenge by killing our swindler."

Something snapped inside Lu Xun at those words, and he leapt out of his chair.

"I'm not having any part in this, gentlemen," he said firmly. "Good night!"

Before he could walk two steps, however, a hand of iron landed on his arm, yanking him back.

"You're not leaving," growled Quan, throwing Lu Xun back into his chair. "You're in this, as all of us are."

"I'm certainly not in it!" protested Ce, jumping to his feet. "I oppose this plan completely!"

"And what will you do, tell Pa? He'll never believe you. He trusts Gonjin more than any of us – you _know_ that."

"This isn't like you, Gonjin," Lu Xun said hoarsely. For the first time in the evening, he was thankful there was no moon: tears of anger and frustration were starting in his eyes. "You don't invite guests to Wu to be killed just because you're feeling vengeful!"

"Must we always fight so honorably?" snarled Quan, before Zhou Yu could open his mouth to retaliate. "We can't do everything by the book against a thief and a liar like Liu Bei. His tactics call for like measures – "

"Which we ought to rise above!" shouted Lu Xun, leaning over the table and getting in Quan's face. "I didn't dedicate my life in service to Wu to see her honor stained by petty tricks – "

"Watch your step, sir," Quan growled. "I can have you dismissed here and now."

Lu Xun, not to be cowed, straightened up and set his jaw. "Your father hired me; only he can take such an action. And I can tell Liu Bei tomorrow exactly what you're planning to do to him."

"Oh, you won't," said Zhou Yu, his voice infuriatingly calm. "When Liu Bei turns down our marriage proposal and accuses us of treachery, what'll it look like from our point of view? Treason, most likely. A conspiracy with _you_ at the head."

Lu Xun flushed and clenched his fists. Anger as he had never known it coursed through his frame.

"I can't let you do this," he said through gritted teeth.

"You'll have a hard time stopping me," said Zhou Yu, rising slowly out of his seat. "You forget your place. You are my deputy."

"I don't care!" shouted Lu Xun. "While I live, I won't let you ruin my country!"

"And I won't let you either," whispered Zhou Yu. "Will you bet your honor on it?"

Lu Xun's eyes became slits at the offer. "What do you mean?"

Zhou Yu leaned forward at the boy and smiled.

"I'll try to carry out my plan regardless of your opinion of it. You can try to stop me - or you can do nothing and watch events unfold. You'll simply have to convince me and all of Wu that Liu Bei isn't all that easy to trick."

"He _won't_ be," declared Ce coldly. "You forget that he has Zhuge Liang."

"Whom Gonjin is itching to go head-to-head against," said Quan. "We should oblige him."

"And what will be the conditions of our bet?" demanded Lu Xun.

"You seem absolutely confident in the demise of my plan," said Zhou Yu. "If it succeeds against your expectations, and Liu Bei is assassinated or Jing retrieved as a result - or both - I will expect your resignation from the army."

Sun Ce gave a cry at this declaration.

"You fool, Gonjin! How can you throw away one of Wu's best and brightest over some stupid bet?"

Lu Xun ignored Ce's outburst and kept his gaze on Zhou Yu. "And if you lose?"

"If I lose," said Zhou Yu slowly, "and Liu Bei escapes with princess Shang Xiang _and_ Jing – my post is all yours."

Sun Quan opened his mouth in horror, but no sound ever came out. Lu Xun sought Zhou Yu's shadowy gaze and held it. On very few occasions, he remarked to himself, had he dared to look Zhou Yu in the eye for very long; he was, after all, a subordinate. But not anymore. He had challenged Zhou Yu, and Zhou Yu had recognized him as a competitor – an equal.

"Very well. It _is_ a deal."

And, turning to the Sun brothers, he asked, "Shall one of you gentlemen be a witness?"

Quan and Ce, both very pale, tried one last time to protest, but fell silent at the look of savage determination on Lu Xun's face.

"Well," said Ce weakly, "we ought to have a record of this, right?"

With that he took out a plain handkerchief from his pocket and lit another match, while Sun Quan took out his pen and wrote out, in very neat characters, the conditions of the bet. Then the pen was passed around, and Zhou Yu signed it, followed by Lu Xun, both hands slightly trembling but their names still legible. Lu Xun, after finishing, gave the pen back to Sun Quan, but Sun Ce held out an arm.

"We still need the finishing touch, gentlemen." He removed a tiny seal – the seal with which he signed official documents - from around his neck, and after breathing hard onto it to moisten the pigment, stamped it by the two competitor's names. Then, once he had ascertained that the ink had dried, he stuffed the handkerchief back into his pocket, with assurances that he would produce it again once one side had prevailed in the bet.

Zhou Yu turned to Lu Xun and contemplated him. Privately he admitted to himself that, even if he was a bit stubborn, or a full head shorter than him, half his age, Lu Xun of Wunjun already his intellectual equal. The little strategist returned the calculating, studious gaze; and despite the difference in inches and years, his gaze was confident, unwavering, and most significantly of all, indicative of no regret whatsoever of the irrevocable action he had just took. What Zhou Yu did not know, however, was how much of a master Lu Xun already was at hiding his emotions. Despite his defiant countenance, Xun was consumed with dread on the inside – dread at where this battle of pride would lead them both, and most of all their country.

"Well then, I guess, it's good luck to you," said Zhou Yu finally, extending a hand in a token of chivalry.

Lu Xun eyed the proffered hand momentarily, then turned his gaze back upon its owner, before reaching out and clasping it in an ice-cold grip.

"And to you too, Gonjin. May the best win."


	3. Doing His Job

III: Doing His Job

The sun was high in the morning sky, and still Sun Shang Xiang had not stirred from her couch.

Her head throbbed as badly as the last time she'd spent the evening playing drinking games with Gan Ning and Ling Tong – except she hadn't had a drop to drink last night. Her silk coverlet stuck to her body, plastered with sweat. When she woke, her eyes burned: they were dry from hours of crying.

_Liu Bei is a good man. I know him well from our time spent campaigning together, and I am certain that your low opinion of him will change in time. I do this for a reason, Shang Xiang._

Shang Xiang squeezed her pillow convulsively – however hard she tried, she could not put out of her mind the words she'd exchanged with her father yesterday after dinner. She had begged and pleaded for Sun Jian to explain why he had what he'd done, and his reply had been evasive – cowardly.

_I don't want to leave my home. I love everybody here too much. Why can't I marry one of our own people?_

_You do not understand yet, daughter. You cling to your homeland and your friends because you are all the same. Like and like make good friends, but who amongst us can you marry, Shang Xiang? You are brilliant, headstrong, lively…and you detest being outshined. Can you imagine what it is like to be married to a husband just like yourself? You two would never find peace together. You will always be competing each other – even if subconsciously – trying to gain dominance over one another. All the officers of this court are as competitive and headstrong as you, and I shudder to imagine the consequences if I gave into your demands to be married with one of them. Liu Bei, however…he is temperate, gentle and just. Instead of trying to put you in your place, he will lovingly admire you; instead of striving against you, he will appreciate you. And he will never mistreat you, I am certain._

Shang Xiang began to sob again at the recollection of those words. Sun Jian's words were meant to be reassuring, but instead they had the opposite effect: they only stoked the fire that raged in her heart, consuming her whole.

Being as talented, headstrong and self-confident as she was, Shang Xiang hated the idea of having to dedicate herself to a man for life. As a child she had proudly told her father that she would never marry anyone and would think only of serving and fulfilling Wu's ambitions for unification. To this her father would laughingly reply that she really didn't mean what she said, and that "all your notions and opinions would change with years and experience". Again and again Shang Xiang made the same vow, and unfailingly Sun Jain replied:

"You _shall_ think differently, Shang Xiang, one day. And then you will thank me on bended knee for having guided you down the correct path."

_He is wrong_, she thought vehemently. She would not bend or eat her words. If she despised one thing more than anything else, it was hypocrisy and weakness of character.In addition, her stubbornness aside, Liu Bei was still a complete stranger. They had never met before, whether on the battlefield or in a more proper setting. What made him even more mysterious was the lack of information to be had about any of the people surrounding him: of his officers Shang Xiang only knew Zhuge Liang, the peerless military genius, who had come to Jian Ye a few months prior to the engagement at Chibi to work out a few tactical chinks with Zhou Yu. Even then she had never had a proper conversation with him: listening to his extraordinary debates with the Wu Cabinet (which validated his reputation in her eyes) only made her afraid to approach him. Liu Bei she certainly would not know or see until her wedding day. Any impression she had of him came from his territorial disputes with Zhou Yu – unflattering impressions, if ever.

It was no wonder, then, that she flatly refused to obey her father. But this time her stalwart resistance produced no effect: whereas Sun Jian would typically listen to reasoned objections, he did not relent this time, and even drove Shang Xiang from his room after an hour of arguing, snapping that if she didn't agree to marry Liu Bei she would be offered instead to one of Cao Cao's sons – they just couldn't afford another war against Wei. So Shang Xiang had hurled herself upon her couch and sobbed her heart out, where she remained until morning.

She did not think herself capable of crying like this. She had not cried as much as the time her father had nearly been killed on campaign against the Yuans, or even when Ce had nearly been carried off with illness. She despaired like she never had, because control over the one thing she guarded jealously – her own destiny – had been forcibly wrested from her.

_Father,_ she thought vehemently, watching her room dissolve into a dark blur under a new flood of tears. _You are no father to me._

OoOoOoOoOo

Shang Xiang finally got up only because Ce's insistent pounding on her door made her headache even worse. Knowing she could not appear in public as she was – her eyes were horribly swollen, and her cheeks dangerously flushed – she reached for her nearly untouched cosmetic kit and, fighting the innate revulsion, painted her face - mascara, lipstick, powder, and violently green eye shadow (the color, she hoped, would make the swelling less apparent). Then, overcome with the desire to cover and efface herself, she donned a long black dress – one she had never worn in her life. When she finally stormed out of her apartments she kicked the door open so suddenly and forcefully that Sun Ce, standing inches away, was flattened against the wall. Feigning ignorance, she dashed off, leaving the mortified doormen to extricate the howling prince; and when she saw him later, his face comically swollen and a blood-stained handkerchief shoved up his nose, she felt no remorse for her accidental-on-purpose move.

They've probably already had breakfast without me, she thought, as she blazed down the corridors – the morning meal in the Palace was held promptly at half-past-eight, and this time Sun Jian probably didn't bother starving everybody else at the table to wait for her. Shang Xiang didn't mind: she felt quite ready to turn up anything she put in her mouth. Her outfit stirred as much shock among onlookers as had her scream yesterday. When had Sun Jian's masculine daughter started putting on makeup? Could anyone remember the last occasion on which she actually wore a dress instead of pants or tights? And why that horrid color, _black_?

Shang Xiang simply ignored their stares, which at any other time would have made her crimson as her hair; for the first time in her life, she _wanted_ the attention. _Let them stare_, she thought savagely, with the same eagerness as if she were beckoning enemy officers to a duel. At times she crossed paths with friends; the Qiao sisters gawped in unflattering shock at her outfit; Lu Meng gave her a quick nod and then walking right past her as if she had turned invisible; and Zhou Yu, who more than anyone else could divine Shang Xiang's feelings and motives, gave her a strange look – one between perturbation and pity – but said nothing. And, to her mortification, she ran into Sun Jian himself, who was emerging from his morning session with the Cabinet. He did not meet her eye, but turned his head away as if he were avoiding the glare of the sun and strode past her with marked haste, his billowing robes grazing her fingers.

After almost half an hour of walking around, attracting conspicuous stares and igniting gossip in every corner of the Palace, Shang Xiang arrived at the very back of the enormous palace. The gigantic crimson gates, which were usually shut, yawned wide open, and beyond a flood of stone steps Shang Xiang could see a forest of ships moored at a long row of docks – the private docks used by returning court officers and visiting dignitaries. Voices floated toward her, carried by the breeze – one voice more distinct than all the others. Recognizing that voice, she pulled up her skirt and hurried over –

"Yes, the gold can go in the holds below! Silks up on the deck – who knows if this boat leaks or not, we don't want them ruined – this is out of the Treasury itself, and it cost a fortune!"

"General Lu!" cried Shang Xiang, dashing toward him and almost tripping over her dress. "Boyan!"

The small, lithe figure turned around, and sunk into a hasty bow.

"Your Highness…Princess…" he stammered. "I wasn't expecting you here."

Shang Xiang seized him by the forearms and pulled him out of his bow. For the first time, it seemed, she realized just how short and young he was; his head only came up to the tip of her nose.

"My – aren't you the dandy today! Who are you trying to outdo – Zhang He or the Qiaos?"

Lu Xun was not wearing his red uniform today, but an outfit splendid enough for a prince. His tunic was of white satin embroidered with silver dragons, with pale green piping and mink trim; a gauze sash secured his sword to his waist. His brown hair had been combed up and secured under a diamond-studded headdress, and his boots shined like black mirrors. Under the Princess' open-mouthed gaze he flushed beet red.

"Well…er…the Cabinet wanted me to make the best impression possible."

In spite of her misery, Shang Xiang laughed. "And did they make you pay for this outfit out of your purse?"

"Thank Heavens, no!" he squawked. "This outfit used to be our Lord Sun Jian's when he was a boy my age…of course he's outgrown it, and so have the two Princes, so he gave it me as a token of gratitude for my service. I feel fortunate to serve a family as great as yours, Princess."

The remark was meant to flatter Shang Xiang, but it produced exactly the opposite effect. "If only my father were as kind to his own children," she said bitterly, averting her eyes.

Lu Xun, mortified, hastily dropped into another bow – he didn't know how exactly to apologize for an affront he didn't mean to inflict.

Fortunately for him, a guard approached him just then, giving him an excuse to turn away from the Princess.

"General Lu, sir, all the articles have been loaded as you wished and we are ready to sail. When shall we leave?"

"Right now – "

"No," said Shang Xiang. "I need to finish speaking with the General."

"Yes, ma'am," said the guard, bowing and retreating.

A very uncomfortable silence followed. Lu Xun kept his eyes on the golden rooftops of the palace, feigning fascination. Shang Xiang, knowing she had embarrassed him, put a hand on his cheek and turned his face toward her.

"Look, Boyan, I didn't mean to say that…I've nothing against you. You're only trying to do your job."

"That was not your mistake either," Lu Xun replied quickly, now keeping his eyes resolutely trained on the ground. When he finally dared to look up at Shang Xiang, a wave of cold water invaded his stomach: her eyes had begun to glisten dangerously.

"Oh no – don't cry – don't be upset, your Highness! It's only – it just hurts me to see you so miserable on account of all this, and if the proposal ever falls into place it'll be my fault, because I'm the one who's supposed to make it work!"

By now Sun Shang Xiang had entirely disintegrated into tears.

"Oh, Boyan!" she cried, collapsing against Lu Xun in a suffocating embrace. Hot tears poured onto the flawless satin of his tunic. Lu Xun would have made a run for the docks and dove into the yellow waters of the river to escape the stares of the sailors and guards around them, but Shang Xiang held him too tightly even for him to breathe. His face burning, he reached up gingerly and patted her head very awkwardly, hoping to calm her down.

"Is there anything I can do for you, Highness?" he rasped.

Shang Xiang finally let go of him, but only because of the half-strangled sound of his voice, and shook her head tearfully.

"You know," he whispered, when she continued to cry wordlessly, "if you really wanted…I really care about you, you know…I could always make this proposal fail…on pur – "

"Don't say that!" gasped Shang Xiang, and she clamped a hand to Lu Xun's mouth before he could finish his sentence. "I might despise the thought of marrying that man, but never, Boyan - I would never want to retain my liberty at the price of your dismissal."

"Sun Jian won't dismiss me," Lu Xun mumbled, and Shang Xiang released her hand. He could feel the gazes of all the people around him burning holes in his back, and his mind began to spin. _Oh God_, _now everybody must have guessed what I was suggesting to her_…"He'll just yell at me a little and take this outfit back. Probably see if Zhou Yu fits it… that's all."

Lu Xun meant the statement at face value (he knew how subjects fared at Sun Jian's treatment much better than the Princess herself), but Shang Xiang thought he was being flippant and glared at him.

"I don't want you fired, or yelled at, or anything. Just…just…do your job…to the best of your ability…and don't think of how I'd feel when you're interviewing Liu Bei, because it'll ruin your concentration."

"I'll find it hard not too," said Lu Xun, and he bowed again out of respect. "But I'll try."

The sound of a throat being cleared next to them startled both. Sun Quan stood with his arms crossed, dressed in a violet robe and a matching hat. He had walked up to them quietly while Lu Xun and Sun Shang Xiang were too absorbed in one another to notice – and he had heard what Lu Xun had whispered.

"Good morning, Boyan," he said, curling his fingers in greeting. He turned to Shang Xiang and smoothed her hair. "Hello, Sis. You've got a rather somber dress on."

Shang Xiang grimaced slightly under her brother's touch, but did not recoil. Quan, in return, assumed a hurt look:

"Don't give me that, Sis. _I_ wasn't the one who came up with that stupid contract, it was – "

"I know," replied Shang Xiang flatly. "I don't need to be reminded."

"And, uh – speaking of uh, You-Know-Who – he knows you must be feeling ravenous right now, so he ordered Chef expressly to whip up something for you – "

"I'll turn up anything I eat," Shang Xiang declared. "I won't go."

"Sugar pancakes in cherry sauce," lilted Sun Quan, raising an eyebrow. "Ladles of cream thick enough to walk on and positively oozing with butter…with a platter of fresh lychees at the side. Your favorite."

"I'm still not going."

"And just in case you didn't know," added Sun Quan, changing tack at the speed of light, "poor Ce's being vented on by Pa, and rather violently, I might add. He actually tried to persuade Pa not to bother you – gallant but futile thing to do, if ever – and he got a vase thrown at his head. Missed the worst parts, but gave him a purple blotch on the cheek, in addition to that broken nose you've been so kind to give him – "

"It's broken?" exclaimed Shang Xiang.

"That's what Ce said," said Sun Quan, shrugging.

"I'm still not going."

"Just for our brother Ce – and for me too…please?" whined Sun Quan, starting to get desperate. Perhaps chairs were being thrown at Sun Ce now. "_Pleeeeaaase_ – "

"You made that rubbish up just to scare me," snarled the Princess.

"Don't be ridiculous," snapped Quan, dropping his whiney façade.

"Fine then," spat Shang Xiang. "But I'll still throw up everything he force-feeds me, just to spite him."

"Whatever you feel like doing, dear Sis," Quan said airly, waving an arm.

He then turned to Lu Xun, who looked, if possible, even more embarrassed than he had been in the first place to witness such a conversation.

"Well then," he remarked, "all dressed up, the gifts ready…you ought to be going now, shouldn't you?"

"Uh – yes," replied Lu Xun uncertainly, and then he realized that because of Shang Xiang running into him he had fallen about ten to fifteen minutes behind schedule. "You're right, sir, I really think I should be going…I'll be late if I don't start sailing soon."

"Hmph," snorted Sun Quan, crossing his arms. "You'll be neither punctual nor late, Lu Xun, because nobody's expecting you over there…but Pa does want to you to make quick work of this."

"Yes, sir," said Lu Xun, and great relief he bowed and made for the ship.

"Wait, Boyan!" cried out Sun Shang Xiang, and Lu Xun's heart sank faster than a plummeting rock. "Please – come back here – hug me again, just one last time – "

Lu Xun had no choice. He turned around, tottering back to the teary-eyed Princess, who engulfed him in another strangling embrace. By now the onlookers around them had collected into quite a crowd; Quan gave them all a killing glare and set to work prying his crying sister away from the choking boy.

"My dear girl, re-_lax_," he said in her ear loudly, in a conscious imitation of Sun Ce. "He's not setting out on an interminable campaign to some place a thousand miles away. No, really, calm down, you're making a spectacle of yourself…you're going to see him again today, probably even at dinner – that is, if you'd bother to show up for dinner."

"I just want to wish him good luck!" wailed Sun Shang Xiang, finally releasing Lu Xun after mounting pressure from her brother's pulling. The strategist staggered away, massaging his throat, but that was not the end of his ordeal: Sun Quan dealt him a powerful blow in the back with his fist, his signature goodwill gesture.

"Go hook her up, like Pa wants you to!" he shouted bluntly, and as he gripped Shang Xiang by the shoulders and slowly turned her away from Lu Xun he gave him a clandestine wink. _After all, I've got her out of your bleached and shampooed hair for you, you little squirt. _

Lu Xun didn't need to be told twice. He whipped around and bolted as fast as he could, across the quay, up the gangplank and onto the deck of the small ship, without even glancing back at the retreating pair. He felt strangely sick.

"What are you staring at?" he snapped at the troupe of gawking sailors, and they immediately scattered like cockroaches overwhelmed by light to their respective stations. "All sails up and oars ready! I want this old floating log to be at Caisang before noon!"

OoOoOoOoOoOo

Next Chapter: The folks at Shu are having a very pleasant breakfast until Lu Xun suddenly arrives at their doorstep with his momentous proposal. How will they react? And how will Liu Bei respond to Sun Jian's offer?


	4. The Opportunity of a Lifetime

IV: The Opportunity of a Lifetime

"And so I faced him and said, 'whelp, you'll know over my cold dead body, because three can keep a secret only if two of them are dead!'"

The entire Shu table erupted in laughter, and the gray-haired Huang Zhong lowered the chopsticks he had been gesticulating with, looking quite pleased at having delivered the punch line of his joke successfully. Though Sun Jian's kitchens were already preparing lunch across the Chang Jiang, it was breakfast here in Caisang, a happy, boisterous and pleasant affair held after a morning of sleeping in. The officers sat at a large table, low enough to allow them to recline on poufs on the floor. Zhao Yun and Jiang Wei sat on one end, looking like brothers with their matching ponytails; to their right, Wei Yan, Huang Zhong, and Pang Tong; to the left, Ma Chao, Zhang Fei and Guan Yu; and on the opposite end of the table, Liu Bei with his strategist Zhuge Liang, Yue Ying reclining on the latter's shoulder. The dining room suggested a world far removed from the splendor and pomp of the Palace at Jian Ye; instead of heavy red and gold it was decorated in hues of green, with shimmering bead curtains doubling for drapes. The lighting that filtered through the tall windows glittered like the reflection of rippling water on the table, staining the innumerable plates and dishes odd colors. A huge screen painted with bamboos covered the other side of the room. It was very tranquil and simple, and the gathering here was small and familial, no code of etiquette observed.

"Remarkable," noted Zhuge Liang, fanning himself delicately. "Age does seem to have given you quite a library of amusing memoirs, General Huang."

"We'll have to hear that one again, someday," Liu Bei added, shifting in his sprawling robes of peacock-green velvet. "Only you'll have to wait for us to forget it first, Zhong, so it'll be even funnier."

Yue Ying shifted and raised herself to a sitting position, using her husband as a means of support.

"Everything sounds like a joke after those silly Wu people have repeatedly given into our demands. Or rather, to be more accurate, _your_ demands," she added absentmindedly, raising an eyebrow at her significant other. "I don't know whether to be impressed at or disgusted by all those cunning excuses you've used to send that bumbling Lu Su back empty-handed again and again."

"Cunning but necessary, my wife," retorted Liang, smacking Yue Ying lightly on the shoulder. "I'll start being honest once we've upgraded our military sufficiently to take Yi Province and Han Zhong – "

"And you're still going to hold onto Jing when we've accomplished that too!" sang Yue Ying, tugging her husband's goatee in revenge, "because no matter how smart or noble or righteous men are, they all think the same: the more land, the better."

This was promptly returned with a forceful pinch on the cheek, eliciting a surprised yell from Yue Ying. The others tittered as they watched this altercation: it was universally agreed upon that nothing in the world was more outrageously hilarious than seeing the calm, scholarly, no-nonsense Zhuge Liang flirt with somebody of the opposite gender.

Liang, even in spite of his superhuman composure, could not ignore their suppressed laughter for long; at length he flushed slightly pink and shot the rest of the table a withering glare.

"Stop laughing! What's so funny?"

"Well, at least we know you're still human!" laughed Zhao Yun – in his attempt to suppress his laughter, however, he sounded more like he was choking. "You're the only person among us with a wife – " _cough_ – "we know you need to play with each other sometimes!"

"Zilong!" cried Jiang Wei, scandalized that Zhao Yun would speak of his mentor in that way. The entire table burst into open laughter once more, and Yue Ying seized her teacup, ready to fling it at Zhao Yun.

"Apologize, Zilong!" wailed Liu Bei, who was crimson and was endeavoring very hard not to visualize what Zhao Yun had implied. "Private affairs are not to be spoken of at the table- "

"Oh – _he he_ – I'm sor – _he he he_ – so sorry, milord," gasped Zhao Yun, clutching his stomach.

"But really," said Zhang Fei, "if there is one man among us who really needs a wife, brother Bei, it is _you_, not our strategist!"

"Ex-_cuse_ me?" gasped Yue Ying. "Zhang Fei, you prat, I'd like to give you a taste of military life without _me_ being on your team! Why, my husband's rotten bum would've been roasted on several occasions if it were not for me!"

Zhuge Liang glared at the speaker. Apparently, he didn't think his close calls were so spectacular to be described in such a manner.

"Well – ma'am – I didn't think brother Fei meant it in that way," said Guan Yu, placing a hand on Zhang Fei's burly shoulder to make sure the latter's temper didn't spiral out of hand at that one remark. "He was probably only saying that it's rather strange for our liege to remain unmarried for so long."

"Be quiet," said Liu Bei faintly, blushing even harder if possible. But the others did not seem to mind his extreme unease.

"I wholly agree with your respectable brothers, my liege," said Pang Tong. "As of my knowledge, you are the only liege-lord in all of China who has not tied the knot yet."

"Cao Cao has, what? Like…ten wives, or something?"

"And a whole flock of concubines to garnish that on the side," added Ma Chao naughtily.

"And as for the Tiger of Jiang Dong, Sun Jian," said Jiang Wei, "he has three grown children – well, I mean, at least three legitimate children, not counting the illegitimate ones."

"Thank you very much," snapped Liu Bei, annoyed at how the conversation had so quickly swung toward him. "But I'd prefer not to adhere to stereotypes regarding men of my rank. I'm rather fond of a single life. If my wife stays home when I'm out on campaigns, then I shall worry for her if I die because there'll be no one left to take care of her, and then consequently I'd worry about my own safety, which impairs me from doing my job…and if I brought her into war, I'd be worried about her getting hurt…And then, children…and fights…It's too much work, and too frightening, in my opinion. I'd prefer not to venture into those waters.

"The part about it being too much work is true," said Zhuge Liang absentmindedly. Yue Ying tightened as if somebody had administered a hot iron poker to her backside.

"But – I'm not finished," added the strategist in an instant, breaking into a grin. "The trouble is still definitely worth it."

Yue Ying sat up and raised an arm as if to hit Zhuge Liang squarely across the face; but at the very last moment, she lowered her arm

"Watch your words, Liang," she growled. "You try to get sweet on me to cover up your mistakes one more time – "

But Zhuge Liang leaned over and, to prevent her from finishing her sentence, kissed her squarely on the mouth. A roar of laughter went up again at her muffled scream, but disappeared almost as instantly – and not because Yue Ying had threatened to throw her teacup again.

"Sire, my liege! My lords, generals…uh…"

The warden standing at the door did not know whether to remain in place or to bolt at the sight before him. Zhao Yun was caught in mid-roll, sprawled on his side; Huang Zhong was holding up his cushion high, ready to pummel Jiang Wei, who had buried himself under his own pouf in an act of self-defense. Zhang Fei's wine bottle had fallen over and was rolling in a slow arc around the edge of the table, the only moving thing in the entire room, sloshing its contents onto Guan Yu's beard. Zhuge Liang and Yue Ying continued to kiss passionately, oblivious to everything.

"Well, what?" snapped Liu Bei, a little louder and more harshly than he'd intended – it was a halfway dignified attempt to rouse the couple next to him. "Has the throne room caught on fire?"

"Er – no," responded the warden, cringing. "Lord Lu Xun of Wu has arrived at the docks. He claims to be conducting a diplomatic visit."

Finally Ling and Ying extricated themselves from each other, thoroughly mortified. The former promptly covered his face with his fan; the latter tried to wrest it from him to hide her own burning complexion.

"Lu Xun?" said Pang Tong slowly. "Lu Xun? Never heard of him…who is he?"

"Isn't he that youngster Sun Jian promoted just before the battle of Chibi?" mused Jiang Wei. "He's Zhou Yu's deputy now, I think."

"Lord Lu Xun apologizes if his name is not familiar," said the warden.

"Why then, if he was Gonjin's assistant before Chibi, you ought to have seen him in the court of Sun Jiang, Liang."

The strategist fanned himself, trying to cool down his roasting face as much as making a show of being thoughtful. For a moment, he filed through his memories, pursing his lips.

"Only fleetingly," he answered at length. "I'd suppose he's just as tall as you, Pang Tong, only thinner. He has a very fair complexion, light hair…He was discussing something or another with a member of the Cabinet when I passed him, and his voice is still very high, quite boyish. And I wouldn't count upon him being much heavier than your blade, General Guan."

"So what's this little shrimp come here to our side of the river for?" grunted Zhang Fei as he seized the runaway bottle and swished the meager amount of remaining liquid in it. "They want to borrow you again, Liang?"

"Well, I'm almost certain it's about Jing…"

"No, sir," interrupted the warden, quite uncharacteristically: wardens never interrupted their superiors. "As a matter of fact, Lord Lu Xun has asked me expressly to reassure you that his business here today does not concern territorial disputes in the least."

It took several moments for the statement to sink in. Frowns appeared on the faces around the table, in order of intelligence.

"And where is he now?" asked Zhuge Liang.

"He's just outside, sir. Waiting for your permission to come in."

Everyone looked around and wondered with rising mortification how one could conduct diplomatic affairs at a table covered with a hundred dirty and disorderly plates. As if on cue, a mass of attendants filed out from several doorways, bead curtains swishing and glinting. They proceeded to collect all the scattered plates and cups, but bizarrely, Zhuge Liang got up and shooed them away with his fan.

"I don't want anything cleaned up," he ordered loudly, as the attendants retreated glumly back to their hidden stations. "Leave everything as it is."

Liu Bei glanced up at his vice commander, totally perplexed. Although he didn't care much about impressing visiting guests with grandeur and glitz, like the Wu and Wei courts, he considered fastidiousness and neatness indispensable.

"What maniacal designs are you up to now?" he asked, the quivering light in his amber eyes reflecting his worried tone.

Zhuge Liang laughed, and Liu Bei shuddered to see the demonic light in his eyes – a look he knew all too well.

"I already have some idea of what the little prodigy of Wunjun has come for. And as for you," he addressed the other frozen onlookers, "leave all your articles where they lie. Everybody behind the screen."

"Behind the screen?" said Jiang Wei, mystified. "We hide behind the screen?"

"Would you hear the interview in its entirety, the juicy bits along with the rambling ceremonious lines?" snapped Zhuge Liang, in a tone of annoyance he reserved for his protégé. "Or would you rather be confined in one of the back courts until Lu Xun takes leave?"

Jiang Wei hung his head. Slowly, fixing looks of doubt on their disarrayed surroundings and suspicion on their strategist, each officer rose one by one from their seats and filed neatly behind the huge pleated screen.

"And no noise at all from you, because it's supposed to be empty behind there," said Liang. "Or otherwise I shall dispose of you - _personally_."

Yue Ying, the last one to go into hiding, shot a dirty look at her husband ("What makes you think _you're _entitled to that kind of authority?") before ambling in after Ma Chao. Then Zhuge Liang gave one final glance around the room, as if to inspect it, was satisfied, and disappeared behind the screen himself.

So Liu Bei was left alone, sitting on his own golden pouf at a table collaged with dirty china amidst ten other scattered giant pillows. Fear, just as if some particularly infamous enemy general had ambushed him on the battlefield, rose in his chest, and he glanced around wildly, trying harder than anything else not to mind the mess about him, and not to think of conducting an official reception in this setting. He wished desperately that Zhuge Liang would at least tell him what he was doing.

"Zhuge Liang!" he called weakly, staring at the lacquered screen that hid all his other officers from view. "Zhuge Liang?"

A brief, muffled commotion ensued from behind, full of whispers and hissing and yelps as people were elbowed or stepped on.

"He's calling you, husband!" Liu Bei heard Yue Ying snarl, after several seconds of Zhuge Liang not replying. "Answer him! Who the heck do you think you are, anyway?"

"Hm?" mumbled Zhuge Liang absently, as if waking from a nap. "Oh, yes, call Lord Lu Xun in."

The warden bowed and retreated. Indignant cries and hissing erupted anew at Zhuge Liang's response.

"Our lord has asked you a direct question!" rumbled Zhang Fei, swelling like a bullfrog. "Sir, you are too impudent!"

"Has he?" asked Zhuge Liang, and Liu Bei heard the _swish_, _swish_ of the white fan moving back and forth. "I do not recall him asking anything in particular. He only pronounced my name, and since I suppose I am to give him my attention and wait for further words, that, of course, is what I did."

Liu Bei gritted his teeth, not knowing whether to yell or cry at his devious subordinate's wit.

"Then _here's_ a direct question - what did you think Lu Xun's come for?"

"Now _that_," said Zhuge Liang, "I cannot answer. You will simply ridicule me for the answer I'd give. Besides, my lord, he'll be here in just a few minutes – can't you just wait?"

"Liang!" screamed Liu Bei, bouncing on his pouf. Now he was sure he would settle on crying.

"And I'd hate to spoil the surprise," said the placid voice, green eyes shining out of the crack they stared through.

"_Zhuge Kongming Liang_ – "

But before he could finish his sentence, the bead portals swished once more and the warden appeared, a blurred figure in tow.

"His excellency Lord Lu Xun, General of the Right, deputy commander of the armies of the South!"

And the blurred figure stepped through the sparkling beads with a clacking sound and stepped into the room, his headdress glaring fiercely with spangled light.

Liu Bei met his gaze, and promptly forgot about Zhuge Liang – and everything else.

OoOoOoOoOo

Lu Xun admitted to himself that he was terrified – perhaps as terrified as his first time on the battlefield. In retrospect, however, he would have preferred to relieve that day at Xu Chang instead of making this visit, for he had been accompanied by fifteen thousand equally scared men, and was not the least bit worried about manners.

His eyes widened and then narrowed at the sight that greeted him in the room. Mangled cushions and hundreds of plates littered the table, as if mysteriously abandoned by a huge (and disorderly) gathering. A single person - Liu Bei, he presumed – sat at the end of the expansive table. Though he knew it was utterly against protocol, he stared openly at the seated man: _so this is the one that everyone back home insists is our swindler_. But no one ever looked less like a swindler to Lu Xun. His gaze was open and honest, and his countenance kindly – even handsome.

Finally Lu Xun realized what he was doing and looked down at the wood parquet.

"Do I have the honor of addressing Lord Liu Bei?"

Liu Bei rose from his seat – not out of obligation (lords did not get out of their seats for visitors), but out of courtesy.

"The honor is all mine, sir," he said, "to be visited by the prodigy of Wunjun. Would you please raise your head so that I might have a good look at you?"

It was the last thing Lu Xun wanted to do, but he obliged, burning red as he did so. Liu Bei's gaze was neither scrutinizing nor analyzing, however, but rather soft and kindly, like that of an uncle welcoming a distant nephew.

"I must compliment you on your wardrobe, sir," he said at length, hoping to dispel the awkwardness. "Where did you find such fine white satin?"

Lu Xun blushed furiously, hating the question.

"This outfit, sir, was a gift from my liege."

"Ah – I see. Well, don't be shy. Shu and Wu are sister kingdoms, and I consider any officer of Sun Jian's to be my friend as well. My regards to the Tiger of Jiang Dong, by the way. Do sit." With that, Liu Bei gestured at the seat directly opposite him at the table.

Lu Xun shook his head.

"I would prefer to stand."

"Please," insisted Liu Bei. "I feel uncomfortable if those who talk to me stand while I recline."

Defeated, Lu Xun inched slowly toward the cluttered table, trying with rising anxiety to choose where to deposit himself. He thought first to sit at the spot indicated by Liu Bei, but realized that it was the equivalent of the "hot seat" back in Wu, the place at the table that fell directly in the emperor's line of sight. So he repositioned a stray pouf around and sank down gingerly somewhat to the right, so that he and Liu Bei faced each other diagonally.

"That's so much better," said Liu Bei, after Lu Xun had settled. "And – oh – uh – please, forgive me for the mess. It couldn't be helped."

Lu Xun stopped pushing away the plates filled with half-eaten food around him, and stared at Liu Bei, embarrassed.

"Oh– have you had breakfast yet, sir?" Liu Bei inquired.

Against his will, Lu Xun's stomach gave an audible gurgle at the mention of breakfast, which he had not had yet. Loading boats and ordering dim-witted soldiers around had taken the appetite out of him hours ago.

"Yes," he lied.

"Then some extra food wouldn't hurt," remarked Liu Bei. Several valets suddenly materialized out of nowhere, bearing loaded trays. "You have to try some steamed honey cakes – if I may be so bold to say, the recipe is a very old one of my own family, perfected through the generations, and it is made from the finest sweet dew from Nanjing."

"No thanks," said Lu Xun.

"Not even the smallest bite?"

"No, sir, thank you."

"Then I shall tell you that I would gain absolutely nothing apart from the breaking of our precious alliance and the wrath of your lord by poisoning you," said Liu Bei, raising an eyebrow. The trays went down in front of Lu Xun and all the dirty plates in the vicinity were whisked away. "_Eat_."

Lu Xun lowered his eyebrows, but gave in and slowly reached for the nearest pair of chopsticks. The cakes sat on their snow-white platters, colored in greens, reds, blues and purples with various food dyes (which reminded him so strongly of textile dyes with their bright colors that he didn't want to know what they really were); but the steam that wafted up his nose was making his mouth water madly. Liu Bei watched him as he broke off a small lump of cake and sent it into his small mouth, chewing very slowly.

"It's good," Lu Xun conceded at length, staring at the odd confections. "Very good."

"I'm glad you like them," said Liu Bei, relaxing a little at the success of his hospitality. "Shall I wait for you to satisfy yourself before we broach the subject you've come for? Or shall we begin now?"

Lu Xun lowered his chopsticks. The cakes were delicious, but he was more inclined to deliver his message and get out of this place as quickly as possible.

"I'd like to proceed right now, if it agrees with you."

"Of course. I'm all ears."

Taking a deep breath, Lu Xun pushed his plate away from him and silently ran through the delicately crafted lines he had rehearsed while on sailing down the river.

"I have first come here to extend my government's profuse thanks for your pivotal role in the engagement at Chibi," he began.

"We are entirely undeserving," said Liu Bei. "The credit belongs wholly to you and your colleagues."

"But without your extra numbers on the battlefield and crucial help from your esteemed strategist, Master Zhuge Liang, our solitary efforts would have been futile against Cao Cao," Lu Xun insisted. He waited for the effect of his flattery to register on Liu Bei's face – and it did – before continuing:

"Now, even though the threat of Wei is temporarily repulsed, we cannot bring ourselves to relax, for we know we shall have to face it again some day. To this end Wu seeks to strengthen our ties to your kingdom. When the union of Sun and Liu becomes great enough even Cao Cao at his full might cannot stop us."

Liu Bei nodded, agreeing with every word Lu Xun was saying. It was remarkable how the nature of the conversation had changed since they had "gotten down to business"; whereas before Lu Xun felt that he was having a real conversation, he now felt as if he were attempting to speak to Liu Bei through a pane of glass.

"My greatest wish also is to strengthen our ties," Liu Bei acknowledged. "I am happy that this is a priority for the Sun family as well."

Lu Xun nodded tersely. His heart seemed to be pounding in his throat now. How to drop the bomb and tell Liu Bei want Sun Jian wanted? What would happen? He cringed at the thought of Liu Bei jumping up and shouting his accord the moment he proposed; but the thought of him going ashen gray and refusing directly was even more frightening.

"What is it that Wu would like to offer?" asked Liu Bei, curious. "Gifts? A joint session of our cabinets? A goodwill party, perhaps, where our officers can meet and exchange pleasantries?"

"Something better than any of those," Lu Xun replied. He took a deep, steadying breath. "Wu would like to propose not just some temporary exercise or exchange, but the strongest bond possible between our kingdoms – a _permanent_ alliance."

Liu Bei had still been nodding as Lu Xun went on, but he stopped abruptly at the mention of the "_permanent_ alliance", chin suspended halfway. Then, the faintest shadow of a frown began creasing his lips; he had finally started to get suspicious. _Go ahead then_, thought Lu Xun wildly. _Be as surprised as you want. I was expecting no less._

"Marriage."

Liu Bei's jaw dropped open. Lu Xun, unable to remain seated any longer, got to his feet. However many times he had rehearsed this final line, he had not been able to bring himself to say it sitting down.

"Lord Sun Jian would like to offer the hand of his daughter, Princess Sun Shang Xiang in matrimony to you, my lord."

OoOoOoOoOo

If lightening had struck the table at that moment, nobody in the room would have been more shocked. Everyone in the room, hidden and unhidden, swallowed a great simultaneous breath. Time itself seemed to have halted in its tracks. Then, Liu Bei slowly expelled a great spout of air and waved a hand.

"Sit down," he said weakly, and Lu Xun, whose building suspense and agitation had fled, plopped down limply, equally delirious. For a moment torturous silence reigned.

"I don't think I can do this."

A moment before Lu Xun's stomach had been writhing with snakes; but now it was completely empty.

"A yes or no within a few hours of such a proposal would be always considered too quick," he stammered, cold fear gripping in his heart. _Well, that rules out him jumping up and down like a maniac and shouting _"Yes, I will!" – but - this proposal wasn't going to fail – it could not – if it did, Sun Shang Xiang would declare her boundless love for him, but Sun Jian would be infuriated with him for the rest of his life…

Across from him, Liu Bei made a strange sound, something in between a sob and an exasperated chortle.

"But – me – and Princess Sun Shang Xiang?" he cried, pointing at himself. "She hardly knows me – and I hardly know her…except that I know she's only half my age!"

Lu Xun stared at Liu Bei, amused in a very strange way at how quickly panic had risen in him. For a moment, he understood perfectly and felt extremely sympathetic; if Liu Bei agreed to the proposal, he was taking a huge (and potentially dangerous) leap in the dark; but if he refused the proposal, their delicate and already strained alliance could be completely sundered.

"Sun Jian knows that too," he said softly.

"And – " Liu Bei wrung his hands, "what if – what if the poor girl dislikes me? What then?"

"That is a risk that every political marriage has undertaken. Politics are conducted without regard to feelings."

Liu Bei could no longer argue. He simply sat in his pouf, shaking his head and squeezing his eyes as if refusing to believe the reason for Lu Xun's visit.

"I'm not going to do this," he muttered shakily. "Never. I refuse to do this."

Though his face was a mask of calm, anger and savage frustration began to build steadily in Lu Xun. He had actually expected Liu Bei to be more cooperative; perhaps a "maybe", or even, in spite of Shang Xiang's misery, a "yes". And if Liu Bei said "yes", he might've even been willing to drop a little hint about the nasty plan Zhou Yu had in store for him across the river. He was going to tell Liu Bei _everything_. Perhaps "no" would have restored Shang Xiang's happiness, or even convinced Sun Quan to ignore Jing for the time being; but "no" would have been a professional humiliation for Lu Xun. His first diplomatic mission a failure…Sun Jian would never place such trust in him again.

"You don't know anything about Sun Shang Xiang," Lu Xun said. "She might be the sweetest, loveliest, most beautiful angel in the world, Lord Liu Bei."

"And that is why I am not risking _anything_," Liu Bei retorted. "_I don't know anything about her_."

Lu Xun smiled, but in truth he felt like punching Liu Bei.

"I'm sure the Princess will come to admire and love a man of such kindness and virtue as you. How could a young girl not like someone like you?"

"I know you're lying through your teeth," Liu Bei retorted. It was as if he had just declared the subject closed.

And closed it was for Lu Xun. At the end of his tether, he sprung up and glared openly at his host, all formality gone.

"I suppose I was wrong, sir," he said coldly. "I thought you a noble man for what you have done for us at Chibi. Perhaps you were so generous only because the outcome of your situation rested equally on the outcome of ours. When in a few months' time Cao Cao once again is breathing down your neck, remember that it was you – not we – who turned down the opportunity of a lifetime to bring peace to the land, and to your people."

A slap in the face could not have been more powerful. Liu Bei leapt to his feet too, shaking, and Lu Xun raised his chin, prepared to receive the blow. But the young strategist was not so artless: he would not have delivered such a powerful insult without the innate knowledge that it would embarrass more than anger Liu Bei. And though Liu Bei looked all but ready to hurl him out of the room - he was shaking and chalk-white with wrath - his next words, pronounced with titanic effort, proved him right:

"Is there anything else we can do for you, Lord Lu Xun?"

Lu Xun regarded him carefully. The effort Liu Bei had mounted to suppress an outburst had sapped all the strength from his voice.

"That is all, sir. I've said everything I've come to say. I now ask permission to take leave of you."

No reply came.

"Then I consider your silence a "yes". Good day."

Without waiting a moment more, Lu Xun spun around and made for the door. Before he could reach the bead curtains, however, a cry stopped him.

"Wait!"

Lu Xun turned around to see Liu Bei with one arm outstretched. He looked him straight in the eye, and Liu Bei finally admitted, on his part, that he had completely misjudged Lu Xun when he had first walked in. In spite of his youthful appearance and innocent countenance, he was already a man – one of great courage and chutzpah - and an officer to be feared and respected as any from Wu.

"Is there any service I may render you, Lord Liu Bei?"

Liu Bei swallowed. "What you said…about me…"

Lu Xun raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to finish, and a faint glimmer of hope rekindled in his heart. He had judged Liu Bei's character accurately.

"I think I'll consider your proposal," Liu Bei sighed, pronouncing his words with such fatalism as if he were surrendering his kingdom instead of withholding a refusal to a contract.

For all the self-control he possessed, Lu Xun's lips curled into a triumphant smile. A great calm – and some respect for Liu Bei – began to trickle back into his insides, and he bowed.

_That's more like it._

"I thank you on Lord Sun Jian's behalf for your consideration. Once more, good day."

He was, again, almost out of Liu Bei's clutches, when –

"Wait!"

He stopped and turned his eyes upward.

"Is there any service I may render you?"

Scurrying footsteps sounded behind Lu Xun, and when he looked over his shoulder, he saw Liu Bei, some attendants hovering behind him, holding something that looked like an oddly shaped package wrapped in gray cloth.

"If you please – just a small act of gratitude – " Liu Bei held out the package. "More steamed honey cakes. Very fresh. The rice was ground just this morning. Please do me honor by accepting it…I mean, even if you don't eat it, you can always give it to Princess Shang Xiang, with my regards."

Lu Xun hesitated, slightly taken aback by the strange offer. Then he turned around fully and extended his arms to receive the large parcel. It was warm. A funny feeling blossomed inside him.

"Uh – thank you, sir."

"And, yes, you may take leave of me. Again, please give my regards to your lord and his family. Good day."

Lu Xun gave one final bow, clutching the package of honey cakes to his chest, and wordlessly fled out of the room, followed by the warden. In the hallway he broke into a run, and did not slow down until he had put at least a hundred yards between himself and that room. As he was hurtling out, however, a sudden, inexplicable thread of intuition unwound in his mind, and he raised his free hand.

"Five," Lu Xun muttered to himself, retracting his thumb. "Four…" his index finger joined his thumb, "Three…" his middle finger, "Two…" his fourth finger, "One…"

And as his pinkie dropped, an explosion of screams occurred deep in the bowels of the villa from where he had run out.

Next: Zhuge Liang and Lu Xun bump into each other and our hero doesn't know whether to tell Liang about Zhou Yu's plan (which would, beyond a doubt, guarantee his victory in the bet), or to remain silent and prevail over Zhou Yu the hard but honest way. And will Zhuge Liang come to a realization before Lu Xun even opens his mouth? After all, he _is_ Zhuge Liang. Stay tuned!


	5. The Inconvenience of Indecision

V: The Inconvenience of Indecision

Lu Xun stumbled in the general direction of the riverbank, unsure where he had left his boat, but caring only that he was moving away from the room that contained Liu Bei. He was out of earshot of the clamor that had erupted behind him as he'd left, but all the same, he could feel the Shu emperor's awful shock, disbelief…and disgust at the prospect of a tomboy becoming the next Empress of Shu. It made his skin crawl.

Without warning, a hand descended upon his shoulder from behind. He shrieked.

"Crying out is entirely unnecessary," a smooth voice admonished. "I won't hurt you."

Lu Xun wrested free of the talon-like grasp of his attacker, and turned around. A wall of white feathers blanketed his vision.

He shrieked again.

Zhuge Liang sighed and moved his fan out of the way.

"You've become a lot more high-strung since I last saw you, lad," he said mournfully, grasping Lu Xun by the forearm and fanning him vigorously. "Not to mention, a few inches taller."

Lu Xun freed himself once more with a quick jerk, hastily smoothed his hair (which Zhuge Liang's fan had upset), straightened his headdress (which had come askew in his haste to escape the strategist's clutches), and picked up the warm parcel of honey cakes (which he had dropped). Then, at last, he fully realized just whom it was he had run into. A molten river of terror coursed through his stomach.

"Wh-what do you want? Where did you come from? And why are you _fanning_ me?"

"So many questions!" exclaimed Zhuge Liang, eyeing Lu Xun with an unnervingly keen and probing gaze. "I suppose I can only answer them one at a time. First of all, I simply wanted to have a look at you, no more. My ability to appear at critical moments, of course, is a closely guarded secret – as well as the reason why my liege has not dismissed me yet, in spite of his seemingly perpetual irritation at everything I do. And in reply to your final question, there is no need to be alarmed about my fan. I'm only trying to calm you down with some fresh air."

"Isn't that thing supposed to – you know – shoot ice and energy fields, and whatnot?" Lu Xun stuttered, staring at massive griffin feathers with a mixture of dread and vague terror.

Zhuge Liang raised a fine eyebrow.

"Only on the battlefield, and even then, only at people I don't like. But I like you – very much, in fact. You're very effusive – in a good way, unlike your artistic but pretentious mentor Zhou Yu. And you're refreshingly sincere. Too sincere, in fact."

Lu Xun glared at the hem of Zhuge Liang's robes. A slow heat spread over his cheeks. Was Zhuge Liang _insulting_ him?

"Whatever it is you want with me, hurry up," he snapped, hating his job of Ambassador General more and more by the moment. "I'm in a rush to get home."

"Understood," said Zhuge Liang. "I just want you to answer one question. It concerns the very generous proposal your liege has offered us."

Lu Xun's mouth fell open.

"You were _listening in_ on us?"

"Naturally," replied the strategist, fanning himself, his voice containing not a hint of embarrassment or awkwardness.

"But – but – " Lu Xun spluttered, apoplectic with fury and mortification – "it was supposed to be a private audience!"

"I'm Lord Liu Bei's strategist," said Zhuge Liang, as if the fact alone were a wholly sufficient explanation. "It's my job to make sure he isn't being conned, ambushed, betrayed, or done in by trickery. I'm simply earning my pay."

"Why, you – "

"My goodness, dear boy, calm down. Whatever that Wei fashionista Zhang He might think, anger doesn't make anyone look any better."

_Swoop_ went the fan, and the tassel of Lu Xun's circlet performed a little dance in the cold breeze.

"Ask away!" shouted Lu Xun – by now his ears were flushing too, and Zhuge Liang's solicitous fanning was anything but calming. "Sun Jian wants me home by nightfall!"

"Very well," said Zhuge Liang. "My question is…"

He trailed off, leaving a very tortuous silence.

"_Just say it already, damn it_!"

Zhuge Liang allowed himself a little smile. It was a devilish pleasure of his, making others squirm. Of course, Yue Ying would have shredded him if she were here. Being the most frequent recipient of Zhuge Liang's verbal torture, she would have empathized with Lu Xun.

"I just wanted to know: is there anything you want to tell me?"

The question fell upon Lu Xun like a pile of hay. He stared blankly, not knowing what to say – or indeed, not knowing what to make of Zhuge Liang's words.

"I don't know what you mean," he stammered.

Again Zhuge Liang arched an eyebrow. "Of course you know what I mean."

"I – I'm just a messenger!" said Lu Xun, fumbling for words. "I came here and said what I was supposed to say. No more, no less. I wouldn't have anything else to say to you."

"But _is there anything you want to tell me?_" Zhuge Liang repeated, his insistence now so overt and forceful that it bordered on rudeness.

The Sleeping Dragon's words rang hollowly in Lu Xun's ears, devoid of any intelligible meaning. Pinned on the spot by Zhuge Liang's sharp gaze, with no feasible method of escape in sight, Lu Xun's world dissolved into a confusion of sensations as his heartbeat escalated and his breathing quickened into a pant. Briefly, he heard only the pounding of his own blood, and the expansive sigh of the river behind him. Overhead, a few seagulls traced circles in the sky, their airborne forms winking in the sunlight.

Then suddenly, it dawned upon him – or rather, crashed upon him.

Zhuge Liang _knew_. Somehow, in Lu Xun's own words, or the way he had delivered the proposal, the strategist had sensed the hesitation, the clash of conscience against duty, the will-I-or-won't-I-tell-Liu-Bei-about-the-extra-dimension-to-this-proposal edge in his otherwise diplomatic voice. He knew there had to be a catch – a gigantic one at that – to the plan, for Zhou Yu to be willing to barter his beloved princess away to a man who had snubbed the Sun family over and over.

Overcome with sudden emotion, Lu Xun lowered his gaze back to the man standing before him and understood in that instant why Zhou Yu hated the man so much – why he envied him so much.

"Well?" pressed Zhuge Liang.

Thoughts and images flitted like flickers of light through Lu Xun's head. Briefly, he was back in the gardens of the Wu palace, shrouded in darkness, sitting with the Sun brothers and his mentor.

_Should I tell him? Should I warn him of the trap and make sure that Zhou Yu loses the bet?_

He saw, as if through a dreamlike haze, Sun Quan's bitter face, framed in the dying glow of a burning match, the crackling flame of Zhou Yu's rising musou, and Sun Ce's expression of horror as Zhou Yu read out the terms of the bet. He felt the cold breath of the Chang Jiang behind him, traveling up his back, breathing down his neck like an immense predatory dragon. His thoughts raced like arrows.

_If I tell him, I will win – guaranteed. No more "Sir," no more putting up with his condescension. I'll lead Wu in the right direction as Lord Grand Marshall and no longer tarnish our honor by scheming, picking fights with my Shu and Wei counterparts, and playing petty tricks with our neighbors…_

But it wouldn't be honest. He wanted so badly – more than anything, in fact, to deflate Zhou Yu's ego by proving the cheapness of his "stratagem" – but the thought of busting the stratagem by giving its details away to its intended victim or victims riled him so much it him sick to his stomach. If Lu Xun detested anything with a passion, it was cheating. Cheating, and lying.

But wasn't he essentially lying to Liu Bei, so he could avoid cheating in his game with Zhou Yu?

Would he lie to Zhuge Liang now?

Growing lightheaded from all his convoluted reasoning, he finally saw a last vision: Sun Shang Xiang, as he had seen her just hours ago, tears running down her face, her crimson hair burning in the sun, staring into his eyes with a wild desperate look as she told him to "go out and do his job."

No. All thoughts of cheating and lying and honor aside, he, Lu Xun of Wu, had a job to do – and that was to simply relay a message from his lord. Doing any more would have been a breach of honor in his contract to the Wu family. Regardless of the importance of anything else, that alone was sacred and untouchable.

The image of his princess's lovely face fell away, leaving only the sight of a very impatient (and slightly bemused) white-clad strategist before him.

"No," said Lu Xun, finding Zhuge Liang's gaze and holding it firmly. "There is nothing I have to say to you."

For a moment Zhuge Liang stared straight back at him, his fan beating in a slow rhythm.

"Very well," he said, after an interminable silence. "That's all I wanted to ask."

Nodding tersely. Lu Xun turned around and began marching again toward his boat. A mixture of relief and faraway guilt twisted uncomfortably in him. He had most irrevocably committed himself to winning against Zhou Yu the hard and honest way – by putting faith in Zhuge Liang's ability to intuit danger. Yet, he had gone out on a diplomatic mission, and lied to his host. He did not know whether his moral triumph and his sin canceled each other out, or whether one won over the other.

He had no intention of spending one extra moment on Shu territory, but as he stepped onto the pier to which his boat was tethered, guilt at having lied so that he could play his game of pride prevailed in him, and he chanced a look backwards, at the sprawling Shu compound and the green banners floating in the breeze.

The Sleeping Dragon stood a distance away, his eyes still upon Lu Xun, the faintest of smiles creasing his face. There was a strange quality to that smile – a stealthy quality, a knowing quality.

It was then that Lu Xun realized that regardless of how he had answered Zhuge Liang's question, it wouldn't have mattered. He already knew _everything_.

"Frankly, sir, he is indecisive," Lu Xun said several hours later, his eyes trained on the polished jade parquet before him. "His reaction to our offer can be best described as shock."

He stood in the Throne Room of the Wu Palace – a cavernous chamber paved in jade and granite, a hundred yards long by twenty-five wide, flanked by massive pillars, and decorated luxuriously every inch over with gold leaf, elaborate carvings, and lawn-sized tapestries. A thick red carpet ran vertically down the length of the hall, terminating in a raised dais guarded by a coterie of handmaidens; and on that dais sat the chair that was the throne of the Emperor of Wu, a massive chaise of burnished gold canopied by a halo of pearl veils, peacock feathers, and red velvet trimmed in gold.

Something indeterminate and shiny rippled in the gap between the carpet and the dais – the reflection of a very stung, very angry Sun Jian leaping out of his throne.

"Shock?" he exclaimed. "At this very generous offer of an alliance? What is it that Liu Bei doesn't like about this proposal? Does he think he won't need our help fighting Wei?"

Lu Xun flinched as the angry echo of Sun Jian's voice, magnified and chilled by the monstrous proportions of the throne room, rang in his ears.

"On the contrary," he said hastily, backing away a little, "Liu Bei understands the magnitude and generosity of our proposal. Or at least, he went to great lengths to give the impression that he understood. I think he's still in denial about how generous the Sun family can be."

The room was full at the moment with generals and advisors (minus the three big conspirators, Lu Xun remarked with interest), gathered in neat files on either side of the carpet, all curious about the Shu reaction to the Big Proposal. At Lu Xun's words all fifty of them turned their heads in a crimson ripple toward Sun Jian in anticipation.

The man in question heaved a sigh and threw himself back into his seat.

"Did Zhuge Liang have anything to say about this?" he asked.

Lu Xun stalled, unsure how really to describe – or whether he ought to describe at all – his brief encounter with the strategist.

"Nothing…of significance," he said slowly.

"Humph," grunted Sun Jian.

Briefly, the Wu Emperor pinned Lu Xun – who seemed so small and fragile, kneeling on the carpet below him - with his keen gaze. Given Lu Xun's evasive response, and knowing Zhuge Liang's reputation, it was a fair bet that Lu Xun had witnessed a reaction on the strategist's face, but was unable to divine its meaning. But Sun Jian wasn't in the mood to pry any further. Lu Xun looked about ready to keel over on the floor, anyway.

"Very well. Dismissed."

"Sire," said Lu Xun respectfully, before turning around and bolting with as much celerity as could be considered proper from the throne room.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Tearing the heavy headdress off his head, Lu Xun stalked through the mazelike corridors of the Palace's East Wing, toward his quarters. Today had been one of the more unpleasant days of his life – for a variety of reasons – and he most certainly would not have relived it even if offered inexhaustible wealth or eternal life. At the end of his tether, ready to collapse from exhaustion, all he wanted to do was to get to his room, lie down, and go to sleep – perhaps read a little more, at the very most.

"So how did things go?" a smooth voice drawled.

Lu Xun jumped and stopped dead in his tracks. At the very end of the hall – at the doorway to his room, in fact - Zhou Yu leaned, stretching languidly like a cat.

A flash of irritation at the question soon succeeded his brief jolt of surprise. Of course Zhou Yu already knew everything about the state of the proposal, and about Liu Bei's reaction – it was apparent in how he leaned so nonchalantly against Lu Xun's door, and how casually and superciliously he had asked the question.

"Not well at all," he snapped, just to rub it into Zhou Yu's face. "He might not even come."

"Oh, he will," said Zhou Yu lightly, examining his fine, long fingers as Lu Xun drew close. "Liu Bei, as much of an opportunist as he is, is not a man to back down from an unpleasant challenge. And I'm sure Zhuge Liang will convince him that it is the right thing to do, if his own courage fails him."

"Zhuge Liang probably knows what you're planning," retorted Lu Xun, stopping inches away from Zhou Yu and raising his chin challengingly. "Move aside."

"'Probably' being the operative word, Xun-chan," replied Zhou Yu, also straightening up and standing squarely in the doorway. "Zhuge Liang doesn't know every single thing that goes on in the world."

"He knows enough," said Lu Xun.

Without another word, and moving swiftly enough so that the latter was taken by surprise, he forced his way past Zhou Yu and shutting the door.

The look Zhuge Liang gave him by the river had been telling enough, but all the same, a fine thread of panic began to unwind from the lining of Lu Xun's stomach. If Zhuge Liang was indeed planning to convince Liu Bei to take the offer – which wasn't entirely impossible – he would be putting Liu Bei in certain danger. Though he certainly would create a plan to counter Zhou Yu, Liang would still have to extricate the Shu emperor when Zhou Yu unleashed _his_ plan, at the cost of picking a fight with Wu forces, and the entire alliance would crumble to hell. It all added up to a recipe for disaster. Cao Cao himself couldn't have wished for a better arrangement of events.

Throwing himself facedown onto his bed, Lu Xun wanted for the first time in his brief career as a strategist to curl up in a dark corner and die.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Thirty miles downriver, in Caisang, Liu Bei felt ready to die as well.

The Wu proposal – marriage with the warrior princess! – had thrown his entire world upside-down – but the shock factor of the proposal was nothing compared with the mortification that followed. It seemed that every one of his generals wanted to be the first to congratulate (or humiliate) him – and in their haste to get out from behind the screen, they had brought it crashing onto the table instead, nearly crushing Liu Bei in the process.

"Oh. My. God!" Yue Ying shrieked.

"Congratulations, brother!" Zhang Fei shouted.

"What a windfall!" exclaimed Huang Zhong.

"I think you'll look cute together," said Zhao Yun excitedly.

"This is your chance to – uh – correct your bachelor situation, my lord!" said Pang Tong.

Liu Bei seized a random plate, wanting to hurl it across the room –but at the last moment he thought that it would look very un-lordly to throw plates. So he settled for the next best alternative: giving orders.

"Everyone, _shut up!_" he bellowed, cutting off his generals in mid-clamor. "Where the hell is my strategist?"

An entire room of frozen, suddenly silenced generals stared at him, taken aback by his uncharacteristic outburst. Gingerly, Yue Ying raised a finger and jabbed it at the door.

Liu Bei flung himself out of the room.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Half an hour of desperate searching later (and almost ready to throttle the first living thing he encountered), he found Zhuge Liang atop a bridge in one of the gardens, contemplating the koi and his own white reflection below him.

"Liang!" he cried, hastening toward him. "What do I do? What do I do?"

Zhuge Liang looked up at Liu Bei, as placidly as if the Shu liege had merely strolled across his path and bid him good day.

"Hmm? I'm not sure what you're referring to, my lord."

Liu Bei fought the urge to shove Zhuge Liang bodily off the bridge.

"The _proposal_, what else? I don't know what to do. You're my strategist, so naturally, I'm coming to you for help."

Zhuge Liang frowned and, instead of answering immediately, stared at the masses of lotus pads and flowers that carpeted the pond, as if the answer to Liu Bei's question lay in their quiet forms. For some time the only movement in the courtyard was the gentle rise and fall of Liang's fan.

Liu Bei trembled, waiting with bated breath.

"Well?" he said hoarsely.

Zhuge Liang cleared his throat.

"You do what they ask, of course," he said finally. "Go to Wu and marry the Princess."

Liu Bei's jaw dropped.

"You can't be serious, Liang!"

"I am serious," the strategist countered, and to emphasize his point, he gave Liu Bei a very somber, very earnest glare. "_They_ certainly are. It's a good deal – you'll be getting a hell of a wife, from what I've heard and seen of Miss Shang Xiang. And you'll have a great time. If anyone in the land knows how to party, it's Prince Sun Ce."

"That's not the kind of advice I wanted to hear!" cried Liu Bei.

"You want me to tell you _not_ to go?" said Zhuge Liang, his maddeningly calm tone infuriating Liu Bei all the more. "Is it because you're afraid of taking this big leap, and you know you should take this offer, but you still don't want to and you want me to convince you it's all right to chicken out?"

Liu Bei felt like exploding. He was trapped between the blade of a knife and a hard place, and his strategist was calling him a _chicken_ for staying put so that his throat wouldn't get slashed?

"I'm not looking for an excuse!" he shouted. "And I am _not_ a chicken!"

"Of course you aren't. But certainly you're correct to say I'm your strategist. I thus have an obligation to give you honest, helpful advice."

"And your honest helpful advice is for me to march into Wu and marry into a family that hates my guts?"

"Sun Jian does _not_ hate you," said Zhuge Liang. "Why would he give his only daughter to a man he hates?"

"So his kingdom could stand a chance against Wei?"

"Good answer. But he doesn't hate you." He turned his keen, green gaze to Liu Bei. "Wasn't he your old friend?"

"That was a long, long time ago," muttered the Shu Emperor.

Consumed by weariness, fighting tears of frustration, he sank down upon the edge of the bridge and dipped his toes into the water, frightening away the koi and ruining Zhuge Liang's reflection.

"Honestly, my lord," sighed Zhuge Liang, hiking up his robes and sitting down next to him, "what is it that bothers you about this proposal?"

Liu Bei shook his head slowly.

"I can't put my finger on it, Liang."

"Is it the thought of marrying again after so many years of bachelorhood?"

Liu Bei thought briefly of his two former wives, Gan and Mi. For a moment he felt a pang of sadness. He shook his head.

"No."

"Is it the thought of marrying a complete stranger?"

"Not even that," muttered Liu Bei. "I guess – I think it must be that this proposal sounds too good to be true."

Zhuge Liang lifted an eyebrow. "Elaborate."

Liu Bei sighed.

"I haven't been a gentleman, I admit it. I keep Jingzhou beyond the length of my contract, and I keep breaking treaty after treaty meant to return it to its rightful owner…"

A lengthy pause followed.

"And yet, Sun Jian still wants an alliance with us. A blood alliance."

For a moment, birdsong drifted across the tranquil garden – a sweet and ethereal sound, followed by a light gust of wind that set the lotus pads nodding, and ruffled the fiery boughs of the ornamental maples bordering the pond. It would all have seemed and felt so beautiful, thought Liu Bei miserably, if not for the current topic of discussion.

"You forget two things, my lord," said Zhuge Liang. "One: that without Jing, you'd be landless – and we cannot have that. And two: that Wu really, simply can't fight Cao Cao on its own."

"But there's something afoot about this 'alliance'," Liu Bei said darkly. "Something sinister. I have a feeling…"

He trailed off, wondering if what he wanted to say next would sound too melodramatic.

"Go on," egged Zhuge Liang.

Liu Bei took a deep breath and tried to deliver the rest of his sentence as nonchalantly as possible. "I have a feeling they are out to get me."

Zhuge Liang frowned. "Who is 'they'?"

"Zhou Yu."

"Well." Zhuge Liang fanned himself and splashed his feet, also making ripples in the water with his toes. "Last time I checked, there weren't multiple Zhou Yus serving in Sun Jian's cabinet. And even then, they wouldn't have the combined vision or the patience to plan past the next week."

"I don't think you should discount Zhou Yu like that," Liu Bei replied hastily, feeling growing dread in spite of Zhuge Liang's indomitable confidence. "He planned the fire attack at Chibi – "

"With _my_ help," corrected Zhuge Liang testily.

Liu Bei tried to look away, but Zhuge Liang grabbed his shoulder and twisted him around, forcing the Emperor to make eye contact with him.

"Listen. Zhou Yu is book-smart, but a fool when it comes to practicality. He's got style but no subtlety. An invitation to get married in Wu territory? It screams 'I want you dead or behind bars.'"

Liu Bei pried Zhuge Liang's hand off his shoulder.

"Thank you very much, Liang," he said, thoroughly sick. "I feel much better about my chances of survival."

"But there is really nothing to fear from him. March into Wu with your head held high. Marry your princess and sweep her off her feet. She'll fall for you and then you'll have one more officer to add to your ranks."

"I don't want to make her turn against her family," moaned Liu Bei, feeling even sicker.

"You don't have to – at least, not yet. But just go. Trust me. It'll be fine."

Liu Bei nodded weakly, momentarily consoled by those words. But some uncomfortable awareness stirred in him like a waking beast, and he looked around at Zhuge Liang, his dark eyes narrowing.

"There is something," he said slowly, "that you're not telling me."

Zhuge Liang's right eyebrow performed a quick dance.

"Me, not telling you everything? That's quite an accusation. I'm your strategist. I've told you the long and short of the story."

"What is it that you're not telling me?" demanded Liu Bei.

"Just _go_. Nothing will happen – "

"For the love of the Han Dynasty, _just tell me_!"

"It is safe, my lord," Liang repeated, thoroughly sick with exasperation by now. "Have I ever consciously sent you into a dangerous situation before?"

Liu Bei thought about it.

"Yes," he replied at length. "But only," he added hastily, upon seeing Liang's mouth drop in horrified anger, "when you had a spectacular save already planned."

"Then what makes you think this is any different?" said the strategist. "Is there risk involved in this trip? Of course. Will Zhou Yu make multiple assassination attempts upon you? You can bet your life on it – no pun intended, of course. But am I going to let you die there? Certainly not."

Though Liu Bei conceded to himself that Zhuge Liang had a point – and that there was no way for him to win this argument, either - he still clung onto his original hope: the wish beyond the pale of sanity that the entire marriage proposal, Lu Xun's visit included, had been a massive practical joke.

"Damn it," he groaned, kicking up a fountain of water. "Damn it all."


	6. The Best Laid Plans

Grand Vendetta: Chapter Six

The Best Laid Plans

Dear readers: If you've been following this story, I've also edited (that is, improved) the previous chapter, for reasons of continuity of both plot and style. I think it's better than when it was first posted – I was in too much of a rush to update.

Nips: LOL – the caps must've been the result of the intensive screenwriting course I took. Caps are everywhere in screenplays: in scene headings, in dialogue (to denote emphasis), in stage directions…the habit must've stuck with me. My apologies.

I didn't expect to update this fast, but I just _had_ to write this chapter – there are some delicious things in here! Enjoy, everybody!

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Why did the tailor have to choose _red, _of all colors?"

Crimson with embarrassment and frustration, Liu Bei stood on a low tailor's stool in the middle of his dressing room as gold-encrusted armor and layer after layer of finely embroidered silk landed on his shoulders, arms and legs. It was the morning of his scheduled departure for Wu – for finally Zhuge Liang had browbeat him into accepting the offer of marriage, after endless pleading and then a few well-placed threats - and his expansive staterooms (normally kept empty and quiet, in accordance to his wishes) swarmed with activity. Valets in green rushed about, folding clothes and packing trunks in great haste; armory attendants were giving the Gold Moon Dragon a final polish; and no less than five dressers now hovered about Liu Bei himself, pinning the five voluminous layers of his formal robes to length, adjusting the clasps on his armor, and fastening jade weights to his sleeves and belt.

Zhuge Liang, an island of calm in the midst of this storm of travel preparation, fanned himself with a bored air.

"You're giving credit to the wrong person. _I_ chose it for you."

"Why in heaven's name do you – " _gasp_ – "always have to make every decision for me?" growled the Shu ruler, momentarily deprived of breath as one attendant tightened the jeweled belt around his waist.

"Red is the color of fortune and love," said the strategist placidly, not ruffled in the least by the threatening edge in Liu Bei's voice. "It's more appropriate than green, at any rate."

"But – but – red is _Wu_'s color!" protested the Shu Emperor, cringing as he spoke as if the wearing of red were a heinous crime.

"Then it's all the more appropriate, isn't it? You're marrying into the Wu Imperial Family, after all. You _should_ wear their color."

Unable to take any more sewing and fastening (he had lost count of the number of times he'd been stabbed by a stray needle or pin), Liu Bei leaped off the stool and angrily shooed his attendants away with a sawing motion of his arm.

"They should make their girl wear my color!" he snapped, billowing past Zhuge Liang in a storm of red and gold. "I'm a descendant of the Han Dynasty – and as far as imperial families go, mine's at least four centuries older!"

"I don't think anyone in the Sun family gives a rat's tail about how old the Han Dynasty is," replied Zhuge Liang with stinging frankness. He shrugged noncommittally, as if the gesture of nonchalance would somehow deflect the poisonous glare Liu Bei threw at him just then. "But maybe they did make her wear green. You two would look quite adorable together, having swapped colors."

Liu Bei fought the urge to roll his eyes at the low, ornately carved ceiling as he made a beeline for the full-length mirror in the opposite corner of the room.

"My God," he muttered, blushing furiously, when he had positioned himself in front of it. "I look ridiculous."

Across the room, Zhuge Liang frowned and cocked his head.

"Really?"

In a way, Liu Bei did look ridiculous: adorned in fiery red and gold, he stuck out like a sore thumb amid the dark, ebony-paneled walls and deep green drapes of his room. But his embarrassment was exaggerated, for in any other respect, he would have been the envy of every man in China who possessed the barest sense of style and glamour. His white-tasseled helmet had been replaced by a small gold headdress, adorned with pearls, which revealed his midnight black hair; his gold-encrusted armor depicted undulating waves and fiery ships (a not-so-subtle reference to Shu and Wu's joint victory at Chi Bi); the crimson trim of his tunic and sash was embroidered with rainbow thread and diamonds; and gold sea serpents with ruby eyes coiled around the calves of his boots. A black velvet cape, embroidered with five tigers (to represent his infamous group of generals), hung about his shoulders. All in all, the outfit was calculated to dazzle without any regard for modesty – to convince any suspicious noble or general in Wu that Liu Bei was indeed not as poor, or as drab, as his modest upbringing suggested.

"How do I look?" he asked, turning toward his strategist.

Zhuge Liang frowned, raised a hand to stroke his goatee, and swept Liu Bei's form from head to toe and back with eyes narrowed almost to slits.

"Very good," he proclaimed briskly, after an embarrassingly intense scrutiny and a very long, very tense pause.

It might've been the springy tone in which he'd said it, or the funny dance of his right eyebrow as the words came forth from his mouth, but to Liu Bei the verdict of his strategist sounded more like a sarcastic jab in disguise than a compliment.

Hating everything, Liu Bei kneaded the bridge of his nose with a hand and turned once more to the mirror.

"You know," he said mournfully, contemplating his reflection, "if I simply stopped shaving for a few days, and lay out on the riverbank to get my hair bleached and my skin tanned, I'll look sort of like Sun Jian."

Zhuge Liang raised an eyebrow.

"You make that sound like a horrible thing," he said.

Liu Bei seemed close to tears. His face fell into his hands.

"Of course it's a horrible thing! Do you know how awkward it would be for the poor girl? And add to that the fact that I _am_ about Sun Jian's age!"

"Don't jump to conclusions, my lord," lilted the strategist, a glint of amusement sparkling in his eye. "One of the more interesting things Yue Ying has taught me is that girls prefer men like their fathers."

Liu Bei did not know whether he wanted to throttle Zhuge Liang for that remark, or to collapse in a ball in front of the mirror and bury his head in his lap, so he would no longer be able to see his reflection and think with mortification of how unnervingly he resembled his friend and rival the Emperor of Wu. He settled instead for a compromise between the two extremes: stomping out of his staterooms, saving any last shreds of dignity he possessed.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Meanwhile, in another wing of the Shu villa, a larger gathering of an even testier and more somber nature was taking place.

The precise location of the meeting in question was in fact the Shu Cabinet Room: a large, low-ceilinged, perfectly square room, decorated with lacquered murals of bamboo forests and lit dimly with oil lamps. The only piece of furniture in this perpetually dim room was a huge, circular table, hollow in the center, large enough to seat fifteen people around its circumference. At this moment, Shu's entire host of generals – minus Zhuge Liang and Liu Bei – were gathered about this table, each person in his or her specially appointed chair; and Yue Ying felt positively wretched as she labored to keep this large, angry gathering calm.

"What do you mean, we can't all go?!" hollered Zhang Fei.

"We can't expect to trust Wu completely," said Ma Chao angrily. "It's absolutely necessary that we give Lord Liu Bei all the protection he can get."

"It's Zhuge Liang's express orders – only one bodyguard," repeated Yue Ying desperately, for the fifth time. "And really, I think he has a point. He's going over there to get _married_. We don't want his hosts thinking that we mistook their invitation to marry for an invitation to invade!"

"Ten generals does _not_ make an invasion!" growled Huang Zhong, baring his teeth. "It's simply a matter of fulfilling our duty to protect our liege."

"And really, why can't we attend his wedding?" pleaded Jiang Wei. "We're his best friends and most devoted followers – we _should_ be entitled to attend the most important event in our liege's life!"

"With the exception of the coronation ceremony on the day he becomes Emperor of all China," added Guan Yu pointedly.

Yue Ying threw her hands over her head, overcome with exasperation.

"_Because_ – !" she began to shout.

"Because _I_ say so," said a chillingly calm voice at that very moment, "and because I expect you all to trust my judgment."

Yue Ying froze. Everyone whipped around. Zhuge Liang stood at the door of the cabinet room, his white robes and fan glowing eerily in the faint light. All talk ceased at once. Only one person in Shu was brave enough to argue against the Sleeping Dragon when it came to orders, and at the moment that person was too relieved at his sudden appearance to think of doing so.

"What took you so long?" said Yue Ying peevishly, wiping her forehead. "I was waiting for you for half an hour."

"Is the ship ready, Lord Ma Chao?" asked Zhuge Liang, ignoring his wife.

Before Ma Chao could respond, Yue Ying grabbed Zhuge Liang's collar and forced him to look at her.

"Zhuge Kongming Liang, I spend half an hour defending your orders on the bodyguard business and trying to keep everyone from getting out of this room so they can hunt down your sorry ass, and you ignore me?!"

"Lord Ma Chao," repeated Zhuge Liang stubbornly, trying his best to twist himself around so he could see the person he addressed, "is the ship –_""_

His sentence ended in a howl as Yue Ying dealt him a slap squarely on the face.

"Don't – you - _dare_ – carry on again without acknowledging me first!" she snarled. "I've had enough of being treated like the wallpaper in front of you!"

The rest of the assembly stared upon this altercation in shock. Massaging the red mark on his cheek furiously, Zhuge Liang, teeth gritted in mortification, yanked Yue Ying toward him.

"Good morning, darling," he huffed, making sure to give Yue Ying an exaggeratingly sentimental kiss on the cheek. "Might I say that you look wonderful today." He then released her – or, more accurately, flung her away. "Happy now?"

"Hmph," Yue Ying grunted.

Zhuge Liang sought Ma Chao one more time. "The ship – "

"Is ready to go," blurted out Ma Chao, staring at Yue Ying with round eyes.

"Where's Lord Liu Bei?" asked Zhao Yun quite suddenly, in an attempt to divert everyone's attention from the marital spat that had just occurred.

"Supposedly heading out for the ship right now," answered Zhuge Liang, fanning himself vigorously (for rubbing his face did not very effectively remove the red mark on his face). "But it never hurts to make sure."

Striding to the Cabinet Room door, he flung it open and called, "Find Lord Liu Bei!" to the wardens that perpetually stood at attention on the outside.

"Now," he said, returning to the party at the table, "about that bothersome bodyguard business – "

"I'll go!" shouted Zhang Fei, leaping up.

"No, _I _should be the one to go!" retaliated Huang Zhong, also leaping up and pushing his chair back for good measure (for he felt he had to outdo Zhang Fei in dramatic delivery).

"I insist upon myself!" proclaimed Guan Yu, getting up and knocking his chair over.

Other generals leapt to their feet (with varying degrees of success at sounding convincingly passionate), and soon the air was filled with shouts and insults over why so-and-so was a better option than the last person to speak.

"Step aside, old man!" Zhang Fei bellowed at Huang Zhong. "We need someone of sharp mind and wit to protect Brother Bei from that fox Zhou Yu, not someone who's starting to get senile!"

The gray-haired general swelled like a bullfrog and turned beet red.

"Why, I'll show you senility, Zhang Fei!" he roared back. "Just wait 'till I give your head a bashing – you'll have trouble remembering what you had for breakfast for the rest of your sorry life!"

"_You_ – "

"Gentlemen – gentlemen – I think we ought to, you know, pull bamboo sticks or something," suggested Pang Tong meekly, his comparatively gentle voice thinned to a whisper by the rising clamor around him. No one listened to him.

"Silence!" hollered Zhuge Liang. "_Silence!!"_

Amazingly, everyone stopped shouting, completely startled by the sound of the strategist's smooth and perpetually calm voice raised two entire octaves in pitch. Zhang Fei and Huang Zhong looked around at the same time, frozen in a rather uncompromising posture in the middle of the wrestling match that had erupted between the two.

"If you were polite enough to not speak out turn and _listen_," said Zhuge Liang testily, giving each and every general a menacing glare in turn, "Master Pang Tong has just proposed a very judicious idea on how to select a bodyguard. Fortunately, though, I already have a method of selection in place – an even fairer one, I daresay."

Yue Ying narrowed her eyes at her husband, sensing more of his devilry afoot.

"What are you up to now?" she asked suspiciously.

Zhuge Liang shot her a pointed look that read, "You'll see soon enough," and snapped his fingers.

Almost immediately, an orderly entered the room, his face blocked by a mountainous pile of scrolls. A secondly orderly followed from behind, carrying a giant cylindrical pot filled with calligraphy brushes. Both stumbled in as if drunk, unable to see past the giant piles they were carrying, and before Zhuge Liang could give them further guidance, the second orderly rammed into the first, causing the latter to trip and drop his payload like a bundle of hay.

Zhuge Liang sighed as the orderly crashed to the floor and bamboo scrolls rolled about his feet.

"Everyone who wants to go, grab a scroll and a brush," he said, picking up his robes and stepping over the fallen man with an annoyed look on his face. "You have five minutes to finish what's on them and return them to me. Good luck."

A mad scramble ensued. Zhang Fei and Huang Zhong belly-dived upon the scattered pile of scrolls as the second orderly dropped the pot of brushes like a load of burning coals and bolted; others soon crowded in, some (like the lithe Jiang Wei) crouching down and trying to reach through a forest of legs for the scrolls, others (like Wei Yan) forcing their way toward the center by sheer force and by, occasionally, picking up and tossing aside those who stood in their way. Only Zhao Yun, perhaps the most patient of Shu's Tiger Generals, hung behind at the table until everyone else had retrieved their materials.

"Don't want to go, Zilong?" asked Zhuge Liang, raising an eyebrow at the only stationary general in the room.

Sighing, Zhao Yun stood up and made his way toward the site of carnage. One last scroll - a sorry, battered-looking thing - and one last brush, squeezed entirely of ink and bent irreversibly by someone's foot, lay where a dozen scrolls and a dozen brushes used to lie. Picking both up, he plopped down onto the nearest seat at the table, and untied the string holding the scroll together.

Neatly printed characters were inscribed inside.

_Application for Bodyguard Duties to Lord Liu Bei in the Kingdom of Wu_

_Your Name Here _

_Directions: For each of the following questions, select the best answer._

_Multiple Choice (10 points)_

_1. The man who most closely assists the bridegroom at the wedding ceremony is called:_

_a. The best man_

_b. The worst man_

_c. No man_

_d. Everyman_

_e. The unlucky man_

_2. Before the marriage ceremony, what is forbidden between the betrothed?_

_a. Sharing a meal_

_b. Conversing_

_c. Physical contact_

_e. Visual contact_

_e. All of the above_

_3. Which of the following…_

Further below that….

_Free Response (15 points)_

_1. To whom, and in what order must the couple pay their respects during the ceremony? Be as specific as possible._

_2. Suppose the bridegroom lifts the bride's veil and takes a peek at her before bridegroom and bride are safely ensconced in the wedding chamber. What sort of punishment is appropriate for the bridegroom in this case?_

_3. Does the tradition of the wedding night prank still exist? If it does, describe it to the fullest extent possible. If not, explain why it was discontinued._

4. …

Widening in incredulity, Zhao Yun's eyes drifted further and further down the exam scroll, until he saw the very last question, which was printed in tiny handwriting on the bottommost extremity of the last strip of bamboo:

_True/False_

_The Sun Family complied with all traditional marriage customs in their proposal to Lord Liu Bei. _

_(Compose your answer on reverse. Pertinent evidence and analysis must be provided.)_

Three seats away, Zhang Fei gave something in between a howl of fury and a harrumph of contempt. "What?! An exam? Are bodyguards supposed to be bookworms now?"

"What does knowing about etiquette have anything to do with defending our lord's life?" whined Ma Chao, to peeved exclamations and gruff sounds of assent from the rest of the company.

"Silence!" spat Zhuge Liang. "The next person who talks will be barred for sure from going!"

"Power whore," muttered Yue Ying, glaring the dirtiest of dirty looks at her husband.

Sighing, Zhao Yun wetted the tip of his brush with his tongue and began to scribble away.

A timid knock sounded on the door, and Zhuge Liang threw the door open to reveal a very nervous-looking warden.

"Did you find Lord Liu Bei?" he asked, before the warden could speak himself.

"A-actually," stammered the man, "no, your Excellency."

Zhuge Liang's eyes widened. "He's not at the pier?"

"No, sir. He's nowhere to be found."

Before Yue Ying could open her mouth to protest (for she'd had enough babysitting for one day), Zhuge Liang had fled once more, leaving her alone with a dozen very stumped, very frustrated test-takers in the Shu Cabinet Room.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

It only turned out that Liu Bei, consumed by a last merciless bout of nerves, had taken extra long in tidying his bedroom (he had insisted on doing it himself, instead of letting his valets take care of the job, as was customary), and was much slower than everyone else in getting out to the dignitary's docks in front of the Shu villa. By the time he finally emerged, dragging his face like lead weights, wiping his forehead with a handkerchief, all the test-takers had finished, Yue Ying had finished grading the scrolls (in addition to giving Zhuge Liang another sound slapping for abandoning her a second time), and the entire Shu company had gathered at the top of the staircase at the front entrance of the Villa in order to see their Emperor off.

"You all right, brother?" asked Guan Yu, as a very white-faced Liu Bei walked very shakily down the staircase.

"Uh, yeah…perfectly fine," replied the Shu liege, his trembling voice completely betraying him.

About five steps down from the top, he halted, as if suddenly consumed by a very urgent, very horrible thought.

"You know, I think I forgot – "

Before finishing his sentence he was already bolting back up the staircase, his embroidered cape whirling as he raced up the steps two at a time. He did not make it back to the top: ten generals descended upon him at that moment, blocking the way to the landing, hemming him in at the sides, surrounding him like a cocoon.

"What are you doing?" the Shu lord demanded angrily. "Out of my way!"

Zhang Fei took Liu Bei's right hand in his own.

"_Brother_," he said, in what he apparently thought was a very soothing and reassuring voice – it actually came out in a gruff bark, like he always sounded. "It's going to be all right."

"You'll be fine," wheedled Guan Yu, taking Liu Bei's left arm. "Now let's get on the boat."

In a synchronized effort, both he and Zhang Fei twirled Liu Bei around, like experienced ballroom dancers throwing a partner into a spin, and began tugging him down the steps once more.

"I –forgot – something – important!" cried Liu Bei, flailing as his generals pressed on him from behind.

"We'll get someone else to take care of it," said Ma Chao over his shoulder. "We don't want you to be late to Wu."

"No – you don't understand – " howled Liu Bei.

At the bottom of the staircase, off to one side, Zhuge Liang stood watching the faraway scuffle with a mixture of amusement at the comical sight and pity for his lord. Seeing that it would take quite a while for the knot of struggling people to get to the bottom of the staircase, however (for Liu Bei was mounting quite a desperate opposition), he turned his attention back to the pier in the distance, and the ship that lay docked at it. The Jolly _Phoenix_ – for that was the name of the vessel taking Liu Bei to the capital of Wu – rose gently up and down in the river tide, its many multicolored banners dancing jauntily in the breeze. A single, long green pennant – Liu Bei's personal standard – floated like a thin ribbon of emerald at the top of the central mast; and at the moment, tiny sailors the size of pinpricks darted about on deck, unfurling the sails currently wrapped about the nine tall masts.

Sighing, he turned his gaze from the festively decorated ship to the wide expanse of the river. There was not a single cloud overhead today, and the sun shined down upon a vast corridor of pale green and brown water, a-glitter with diamonds of reflected light. A blue haze in the sky veiled the soft border between river and sky; but if Zhuge Liang squinted hard enough, and shielded his eyes from the glare of the sun with his fan, he fancied he could see, lying along that imaginary line in the indistinguishable distance, the low, milky suggestion of mountains – the territory of the Kingdom of Wu.

It all looked so faraway, so mysterious and romantic from where he stood, in humdrum Caisang; and yet he, Zhuge Liang, had been there before – been to Wu, in fact lived there for nearly a year, a guest of honor in the court of Sun Jian. It had been during the months leading up to the Battle of Chi Bi, and he was in Jian Ye working on a way to hold Cao Cao's advance with Sun Quan and Zhou Yu. Briefly a wave of memories overtook him – vaguely exciting memories (for back then he had believed that the Shu-Wu alliance was a grand thing and worth fighting for), and faintly bitter memories (for he now knew that any alliance now between the two kingdoms would have to be built purely on shared fear of Cao Cao, not mutual liking or something even remotely similar to that).

Somewhere, beyond those watercolor mountains, Zhou Yu was scheming, planning his next move against the Shu. Briefly a feeling akin to anger stirred within the depths of Zhuge Liang's habitually tranquil heart. He, Zhuge Liang, had never thought of Zhou Yu as a rival; indeed, he liked Zhou Yu very much, found his knack for finesse and style fascinating, and admired even more his talent for music and poetry. He had wanted so much to become friends with the talented Wu strategist, and oppose Cao Cao's relentless campaign to swallow the land side by side. They had so much in common, anyway, and Zhou Yu had seemed so pleasant and affable at their first meeting.

But no. Zhou Yu, not to be bested or even matched by anyone, insisted on being Zhuge Liang's rival. It seemed he wanted to see Zhuge Liang fail more than he wanted even to see his own kingdom unify the land. Given how serious and vehement he was in his perceived rivalry, Liang had no choice but to play along, lest Shu suffer as a consequence of his unwillingness to compete. He had to counter scheme with scheme. He had to use whatever unscrupulous methods he could to prevent Jingzhou from being returned to the Sun family. And now he had to humiliate Zhou Yu once more so that Liu Bei wouldn't get killed or captured in Wu…

"Excuse me, sir?"

Roused abruptly from his reverie, Zhuge Liang spun around. Zhao Yun stood nervously before him, wearing a half-curious, half-mystified expression.

"Miss Yue Ying said you wanted to see me," added the general, when Zhuge Liang didn't immediately register why he was there. "About…something."

"Oh, yes, Zhilong!" he exclaimed, when he finally remembered. "Congratulations. You're to be Lord Liu Bei's bodyguard."

The only sounds to be heard in the next few moments were the sharp, gutteral screams of a few seagulls overhead, the faint shouts of sailors' orders from the pier, and the continuing roar of the wide Chang Jiang. Zhao Yun's mouth fell open as he stared blankly and unbelievingly at Zhuge Liang.

"I'm sorry, sir?"

"You're. His. Bodyguard," repeated Zhuge Liang, loudly and clearly, somewhat annoyed at Zhao Yun's dazedness. "You've earned the highest score on the quiz. Is there anything about that you can't understand?"

"But…I don't know anything about wedding etiquette! I guessed on over half the questions!"

"But you know enough," replied Liang firmly, his tone of voice very final and authoritative. "You were the only person in that room who answered the last question correctly."

Zhao Yun's eyes widened.

"The statement really _was_ false?"

"Completely and utterly. And your reasoning was correct too. There's no tradition in existence that calls for the bride to be married in her homeland. A bride is supposed to be sent off to her husband and married wherever her husband lives."

"Oh – wonderful!" Zhao Yun stroked his chin, feeling, for the first time in a long while, quite pleased with himself.

Then he realized that being specially selected for a task, according to dubious standards – and even more suspiciously, by Zhuge Liang's express design – was not necessarily something to be pleased about at all. His hand dropped from his chin. So did his smile.

"Are you trying to get at something here?" asked the general suspiciously, frowning at Zhuge Liang. "You wrote an entire quiz but cared only about the answer to the very last question."

To Zhao Yun's immense surprise, Zhuge Liang clapped his hands and cackled in delight upon his words.

"You _are_ smarter than your head-butting, spear smashing counterparts!" he exclaimed, though the dubious compliment drew only an even odder look from Zhao Yun. "My whole point is that it is highly unusual for the Sun family to invite Liu Bei to Wu to get married. If they were serious about tradition – as they claim they are – they would've sent Princess Shang Xiang over to Caisang, dressed and dolled up like a present – not invited our man over."

"But they did ask Liu Bei to come over," Zhao Yun continued, picking right up on Zhuge Liang's train of thought, "so…they must have set some sort of trap for him." He paused and drew in a long breath, realizing the horrible. "They must be planning to harm him in some way!"

"That statement is a little broad…and generic," said Zhuge Liang delicately, cringing slightly at Zhao Yun's overly dramatic delivery. "But it's essentially accurate. They want him dead or captured. And _your_ job is to prevent either case."

"Shall I stay awake at night and sit on the windowsill of his bedroom?"

"That's hardly necessary. The conniving folks at Wu aren't brainless enough to take our liege out by conventional means. They'll try to get him when you least expect it. You must keep your eyes and ears peeled."

"But what about Zhou Yu?" asked Zhao Yun worriedly. "I might be able to hold him off on the battlefield, but I'm no match for him intellect-wise."

"Which brings me to my next point," said Zhuge Liang. "I'm not about to let you go off totally unequipped."

Reaching into his robes, he pulled out three small, lacquered boxes. Zhao Yun stared at them curiously. Their flat, delicate shape and intricate carving reminded him in some strong way of the containers ladies kept cosmetics in.

"What are those?"

"More precisely, it's what's inside you should be curious about," corrected Zhuge Liang. "This is Plan the First – " he held up the box with a carving of a goldfish – "Plan the Second" – he showed the next box, which displayed a galloping horse – "and Plan the Third" – he waved the final box, adorned with the figure of a coiled dragon, apparently in deep sleep.

"I don't think I follow…" said Zhao Yun slowly, growing more and more bewildered by the second.

"My instructions are simple enough. Open these boxes when you fall into a situation that you absolutely – I repeat, _absolutely without a doubt_ - cannot get out of. There will be instructions inside that you must follow. And one more thing - open them only in the order I've prescribed, or else they won't work."

Zhao Yun took the proffered boxes and inspected each gingerly, as if they carried jewels of staggering value, lethal poisons, explosives or articles of a comparatively exotic nature.

"Keep them in a safe place," instructed Zhuge Liang. "The last thing you'd want is for someone to take them away from you. _And don't open them now!_"

Nearly dropping the box he was trying to open, Zhao Yun nodded embarrassedly and hastily stuffed the boxes into his waist piece.

A spattering of shouts made both men turn around. The human cocoon that contained Liu Bei had inched its way down nearly to the bottom of the staircase, and at the moment Liu Bei was fighting as hard as ever against the pulling and tugging of his generals. He had dropped his pretense of having forgotten something critical in his room, and was openly shouting:

"I don't want to go! There must be some other way to make an alliance! I don't have to marry a complete stranger! _She_ doesn't have to marry a complete stranger!"

"Really, my lord," said Zhuge Liang, approaching the struggling pile of generals and staring through the gap between Wei Yan and Huang Zhong at a pair of frightened brown eyes, "this is no different from any other engagement or treaty negotiation you've entered into. You must do this, for Shu's sake. For your people's sake. You've never shrunk from doing anything for your people, have you?"

"I don't care!" bawled Liu Bei, flailing his arms. "I'd fight my way through a hundred battles and sit through a hundred negotiations before I do this!"

Zhuge Liang, apparently convinced that Liu Bei could no longer be convinced, sighed and raised his fan – a secret gesture.

"Master Pang Tong, if you please."

"With no pleasure, but I'll do it anyway," drawled Pang Tong in reply.

A small bolt of lightning about the length of a walking cane suddenly appeared out of thin air above the middle of the struggling group, and struck Liu Bei squarely on the chest. The surrounding generals shrieked and scattered as the bolt disappeared in an explosive boom. Liu Bei himself dropped limply to the staircase like a sack of potatoes and rolled down the remaining ten steps onto the ground.

"How dare you!" cried Yue Ying, horrified, after the most awful pause in the history of Time – she had been pushing Liu Bei from behind. "You attacked our Emperor!"

"Carry him onto the boat," said Zhuge Liang wearily, gesturing with his fan from the band of shocked, frozen generals to the Jolly Phoenix. He turned to his wife. "Really, I had no other choice."

It took a while to recover from the suddenness of Zhuge Liang's order (and the deafening, dazing effect of the thunderbolt), but several of the stronger male generals collaborated to pick Liu Bei up and bear him toward the pier. Zhao Yun followed Liu Bei's prone form, patting his waist piece awkwardly – the boxes formed an odd lump near his stomach.

Before Zhao Yun could walk out of reach, Zhuge Liang strode over and clapped a hand onto his arm.

"Keep your head high and your senses about you," he whispered, giving the general a loaded but trusting look. "I'm counting on you to bring him – and his wife - back safely."

"You can count on me, sir," said Zhao Yun firmly.

Zhuge Liang gave him an amicable blow on the shoulder and released him.

The remaining Shu party clambered onto the wooden pier as Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Wei Yan tottered awkwardly up the gangplank with the unconscious Liu Bei. Then Zhao Yun walked up the gangplank, the tassels on his spear and his cape furling in the strong river breeze. The Jolly Phoenix was all but ready to depart; all her sails were unfurled, the coxswain was shouting orders, and sailors on the pier were undoing her moorings.

"Have a safe journey – and don't forget to have _fun_!" shouted Zhuge Liang, as Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Huang Zhong leapt down from the ship's decks as the gangplank was retracted.

"Take good care of our master!" hollered Ma Chao.

"Say hello to the pretty bride for us!" yelled Pang Tong.

Zhao Yun waved energetically at his friends on the pier, looking very lonely and forlorn despite his wide smile as he stood by himself at the railing of the departing Jolly Phoenix.

When the immense silhouette of Liu Bei's ship had shrunk to a pale dot on the horizon, Yue Ying nudged Zhuge Liang in the ribs.

"Why didn't you tell him how you were planning to save him?" she said. "He would've at least been willing to walk onto that boat all by himself."

"It ruins the fun," replied Zhuge Liang demurely, fanning himself despite the fact that there was already a strong breeze bathing them at the moment. "And besides, I wouldn't want anyone in Wu to divine it. Liu Bei has to be taken by surprise as much as Zhou Yu."

"But he's scared for his life!" whispered Yue Ying. "For good reason!"

"Oh, for heaven's sake," said Liang, waving his fan in an expansive gesture. "He has nothing to fear. His life is safe as can be."

Yue Ying raised an eyebrow and gave her husband a challenging glare.

"You'd better stand by what you said. Otherwise…"

"What?" said Zhuge Liang, raising an eyebrow in a similarly challenging manner.

Yue Ying paused momentarily and rummaged about for a phrase that was sufficiently intimidating.

"Your ass…is grass."

"Sweetheart," said Zhuge Liang, fixing Yue Ying with a look halfway between superciliousness and devious amusement, "you know _nothing_ about grassing one's backside."

OoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Next Chapter: Liu Bei thinks Zhuge Liang has informed the Sun family of his arrival, but in reality, Zhuge Liang _hasn't_. What will the Wu reaction be to Liu Bei's sudden appearance on their side of the river? I'll be out of the country from July 1st-13th so no updates until mid-July, but stay tuned anyway!

Please please review! It takes only a few seconds and I love reading them!


	7. Specters on the Water

Grand Vendetta

VII: Specters on the Water

My heartfelt thanks to all reviewers! Enjoy!

OoOoOoOoOo

On the opposite side of the Chang Jiang, a solitary figure on horseback meandered at a mournful crawl across sand and surf.

The rider in question was Lu Xun – bareheaded, dressed in a plain gray tunic, wrapped in a black cloak. The sleek black horse he rode – named Sunbeam, ironically – was actually Sun Quan's, stolen as part of a dare from Sun Ce.

Now, hours after his infiltration into the Sun family stables, Lu Xun felt his initial euphoria and excitement at a heist well accomplished (which he had originally agreed to perform out of the sheer need for distraction) dwindling into nothingness. Ennui and hollowness racked him like pangs of hunger. A lingering feeling of stress had made him unable to read, swim, or indeed do anything that he formerly enjoyed.

It was all because he was still waiting for a reply from Shu.

It had been two months since he had sailed down the river to offer Sun Shang Xiang's hand to Liu Bei. Ever since that inconclusive (and rather awkward) meeting, not a word had come from Shu about the proposal – not one ship or messenger; not even a letter. It was as if Liu Bei and all his followers had vanished off the face of the earth. The silence tortured Lu Xun to no end: though he'd originally dreaded a very short wait (which would have indicated impulsiveness on Liu Bei's part), he found a wait of this length worse – it could not mean anything good. Sun Jian had even been contemplating sending Lu Xun back to Caisang, if only to "reassess the sentiments there," as the former had put it. And Lu Xun dreaded the prospect: he would have preferred being reassigned to the front lines at He Fei instead of being made to endure another mortifying round of diplomatic acting, or being dissected by Zhuge Liang's surgical gaze.

That also was it – the parting look from Zhuge Liang. It lingered in his eye like the dark afterimage of the sun, robbing him of sleep and concentration. Lu Xun had no idea why it bothered him so much – and though his head hurt every time he attempted to find a reason why, he nonetheless spent most of his waking hours doing just that.

_What is it about that look? Zhuge Liang has figured out what's behind this proposal – or is acting like he has. What was he trying to do? Reassure me? Intimidate me? Does he think I'm part of the conspiracy? Or, God forbid, that everyone in Wu is in it, Sun Jian included? _

_What will he tell Liu Bei? Everything, probably. Then Liu Bei will refuse us – no man in his right mind would not. Is this why nothing has come yet? Does he think he even doesn't have to refuse in writing?_

_But wouldn't Liu Bei react more…strongly? Wouldn't he be furious and call Sun Jian out on his "treachery," and break off relations with Wu? Why would he ever continue an alliance with a family that plotted against his life – unless he thinks that an open split between us would embolden Cao Cao? But he seemed so honest and outspoken with me when I interviewed him. Won't he be honest now?_

Here Lu Xun's train of reasoning invariably hit a dead end, and always for the same reason: he did not know Liu Bei. In spite of the image of honesty and outspokenness that Liu Bei had conveyed, Lu Xun was forced to question it after hearing Zhuge Liang so nonchalantly admit to eavesdropping on their "private" conversation. _It's my job to make sure he isn't being conned, ambushed, betrayed, or done in by trickery_ – it said something about the level of influence Liang exercised with his lord. All of Liu Bei's actions and words had to be products of his strategist's influence – not honest reflections of his own character - and Zhuge Liang, Lu Xun knew, was beyond comprehension.

_It's less of a mystery now why Zhou Yu hates him_. If a single five-minute conversation had set Lu Xun on edge for so long, he did not know how Zhou Yu had been able to handle working with Zhuge Liang for two whole months prior to Chibi. Granted, Zhuge Liang had been all charm and courtesy in the court of Jian Ye, as many courtiers and generals had testified; even the intractable Sun Quan had called Liang "a gentleman with a first-rate mind." But Lu Xun – even in his brief five-minute encounter with the strategist- had detected a hidden edge beneath Liang's charming exterior, and edge made crueler and keener by the frightening confidence with which Liang conducted himself. And Zhou Yu had definitely felt that edge, that winter.

_If only they'd gotten along – I can't help but think that Gonjin wants to kill Liu Bei to one-up Zhuge Liang_ _– not really for the sake of politics._

Lu Xun straightened up on his horse and gazed into the distance. Massive clouds – leaden gray and menacing – stretched from river to sky like cosmic pillars, floating silently over the distant line that connected river and land. They reminded Lu Xun of ship's sails in their breadth and soaring height, and for a moment, the gray, wet riverbank slipped away from sight, and Lu Xun was indeed standing before a forest of tall sails, a report in his hand and the surf tickling his feet, listening to two men conversing in the distance with growing irritation.

_I hope I did not put you through too much anxiety? It was rather terrible of me to ask this of you._

_Nonsense, _replied a voice laughingly_. All tasks are but as easy as turning one's hand over – that is, if they are planned and executed properly._

Lu Xun looked over at Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang, who stood about ten paces off on the sand, and wondered for the third time what was taking his superior so long to put an end to this conversation. He could not see the expression on Zhou Yu's face – Gonjin had his back to him – but Zhuge Liang's face was plainly visible, wearing the placid and gentle smile it always wore.

_What sort of payment would you like, sir?_

_Oh, none at all. Cao Cao's defeat is the only compensation I look forward to. I trust you will no longer stand in want of arrows?_

Zhou Yu's voice was strangely tight. _Certainly not_, he replied. _Not at all._

"Sir," said Lu Xun very loudly, throwing caution to the winds – the report in his hand was a very urgent one, and Zhou Yu had been away from his office far too long. "The scout reports from Xia Kou – "

_Very well, very well!_

With a very stiff bow to Liang, Zhou Yu started back along the riverbank, toward the road that led to Jian Ye. Lu Xun ran after him and waved the report at Zhou Yu, hoping he'd read it on the spot so they could discuss it back at the office; but Zhou Yu barreled on wordlessly, refusing to look even once at Lu Xun – something entirely unlike him to do.

And when they reached his office Zhou Yu was still not himself: he tossed the report aside after a single glance, without comment, and when Lu Xun handed him a pen to sign a few approval forms, Zhou Yu, instead of putting it to paper, seized it by both ends and broke it cleanly in half.

Later Lu Xun inquired around about what had happened between Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang. The answers he received were, in truth, a little hard to believe. Zhou Yu had asked Zhuge Liang to procure a hundred thousand arrows for immediate use against the Cao fleets – there'd been a supply shortage, apparently - and Zhuge Liang had done just that. Some told Lu Xun that it hadn't been a request, but a bet – a bet calculated to deflate Liang's reputation for superhuman genius. Why else was Zhou Yu so upset? Ordinarily such a swift end to an ammunition shortage would have overjoyed him.

Rubbish, Lu Xun had thought then. He didn't know Liang well enough yet, but certainly Gonjin was above stirring petty rivalries…

How naïve and ignorant he'd been.

The first drops of rain began to fall from the sky, and the forest of tall ships, Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang's distant forms, and the haze of impending battle vanished from Lu Xun's eyes. Briefly, as he shivered under a new onslaught of coldness, he thought – not without bitterness – about how far he had drifted from Zhou Yu since that momentous winter. While preparing for Chibi, basking in the afterglow of a recent promotion and burning with patriotism, he was practically Zhou Yu's right arm – knowledgeable at very moment of his thoughts and whereabouts, as open and frank with him as he'd ever been with anyone, and in possession of his full confidence, even respect.

Not any more: he hardly saw Zhou Yu anymore, and even when he did, his superior's eyes and countenance were utterly blank – cold. Lu Xun knew Zhou Yu was plotting, plotting, plotting – thinking of ways to ensure the success of his plan, perhaps to counter Zhuge Liang. But what was he thinking? He could no longer know.

A glimmer of color roused Lu Xun from his reverie, and he stopped and narrowed his eyes at the massive storm front stretching before him. There was nothing but a wall of gray – his eye had tricked him.

He sighed and plodded on.

A second later he stopped and stared again.

The silhouette of a single ship – a sizable one, even in the distance – floated into view between the column-like clouds. It was almost faint enough to blend into the storm front itself, but a thin ribbon of green kept it from dissolving entirely into the gray sky.

_A pennant_, thought Lu Xun, admiring its vivid color.

_A warship_, he thought next, judging the length of the pennant.

_Not just any warship_, he realized, as the silhouette swelled. _A ship-of-the-line._

Then Lu Xun went cold all over – and not because it had suddenly begun to pour.

_Is this really who I think it is?_

_Oh God - _Liu Bei_?_

_What on earth – he's really come? _

Without another moment's thought, Lu Xun dealt Sunbeam a sharp kick in the ribs and fled at top speed in the direction of the nearest watchtower.

OoOoOoOoOo

Liu Bei opened his eyes a crack and winced at the sudden stab of light that greeted him. His head felt as if it had been repeatedly bludgeoned by a dull weapon. His first thought was to wonder where on earth he was, for the gray wood ceiling that sloped above him was not that of his bedroom. His second thought – or rather, realization – was that the mat he lay on pitched and rolled rather uncertainly.

When finally he realized that he was on a boat in the middle of the Chang Jiang, he leapt up from his mat – and promptly collapsed again as a bout of vertigo assailed him.

"Damn you, Zhuge Liang!" he exclaimed, pounding the wooden deck with a fist.

"Sir?" said a worried voice, and Zhao Yun appeared in the doorway of Liu Bei's cabin, dripping wet. For a moment Liu Bei eyed the puddle forming at the hem of Zhao Yun's cape with dismay.

"Zilong – what's going on?"

"We're on the _Jolly Phoenix_, sir. Sailing across the river."

Liu Bei groaned as another stab of pain caused his vision to blacken. "Did you fall overboard, Zilong?"

Zhao Yun looked genuinely concerned as he moved over to help Liu Bei into a sitting position. "No, sir – it's just raining outside. Pretty hard at that."

"Damn it," growled Liu Bei – the only thing he hated more than traveling on boats was pouring rain. "Remind me to throttle Zhuge Liang as soon as we return."

"Sir?"

"That's an order, Zhilong – I don't care how much good this visit will do me in the long run; he has to stop treating me like an idiotic child!"

OoOoOoOoOo

In the woods west of Jian Ye, two riders crashed through the wet undergrowth, trailed by a pack of yelping dogs. Twenty yards ahead of them, a terrified fox fled, zigzagging through the trees.

"I'm on him!" roared Sun Quan triumphantly, leveling his bow at the fleeing creature.

"Not so fast!" challenged Zhou Yu, riding abreast and aiming his bow as well.

Before they could shoot, however, a resounding crash and an explosion of leaves and branches startled them, sending their horses rearing and the fox scampering away into the undergrowth. A large black steed leapt out of the bushes, bearing a small figure on its back.

"Your Highness! Sir!"

Sun Quan and Zhou Yu gaped as Lu Xun barreled toward them.

"What the hell is going on? You scared our fox away!"

"And what the hell are you doing on my horse?" Sun Quan bellowed.

"Sorry - got to go!" shouted Lu Xun, galloping past them. "Liu Bei's coming!"

He raced off into the distance. Sun Quan and Zhou Yu turned to each other in shock.

"_What_? He's coming?"

"Not possible," said Zhou Yu, turning sheet-white. "I told the bastards on the watchtowers to notify me as soon as they saw a hint of a ship!"

Right at that moment a second crash sounded, and a messenger dressed in the uniform of the River Guard hurtled toward them.

"General Zhou Yu, sir!" he exclaimed, dismounting and kneeling on the wet grass before the riders. "Outpost Five reports sighting a warship sailing across the Chang Jiang in our direction!"

"What sort of warship?" demanded Zhou Yu. "Are you sure it isn't one of ours?"

"Begging your pardon, sir, it's not likely ours. The ship is displaying a long green pennant on its mainmast."

"The Wu navy never flies anything green," muttered Sun Quan, turning white himself.

"Damn!" spat Zhou Yu. "This must be Zhuge Liang's design!" He turned to the messenger. "Where is it heading?"

"We're not sure, sir. It's still too far away to tell."

Without another word, Zhou Yu and Sun Quan swiveled around and galloped for the riverbank.

OoOoOoOoOo

On the topmost deck of the _Jolly Phoenix_, Liu Bei shivered as torrent after torrent of rain cascaded upon him. Zhao Yun stood at his side, trying his best to maintain an agreeable expression, and (uncharacteristically) failing. Both stared desperately into the grey distance, searching for a hint of a port on the southern bank of the river, and not finding anything – largely because the torrential rain made it impossible to tell where river met land, or where land met sky.

"The pilot says we're only a mile away from Jian Ye?"

"Yes," said Zhao Yun, furrowing his brow. "But I don't see anything."

"Neither do I. It's strange."

Zhao Yun cast his lord a bemused look. "Strange, sir? It's sort of hard to see anything in this weather."

"I mean it's strange we haven't seen any ships yet. I know Sun Jian – if he were receiving an important visitor, he'd send out a whole fleet of ships to accompany us into port. That's the sort of treatment Zhuge Liang received when _he_ went there."

Then Liu Bei paused as a horrible idea entered his head. "Zhuge Liang did tell them we were coming, did he?"

Zhao Yun stared blankly back. "I assume they know we're coming."

"Then where _is_ everyone?" cried Liu Bei, angrily sweeping his arm at the open (and empty) expanse of water before him. "I'm turning back if I don't see any ships soon!"

Zhao Yun lowered his head and fell into deep contemplation. He honestly did not know how to reply to Liu Bei, or to calm him down – he could only assume that Zhuge Liang, of all people, would not neglect diplomatic protocol and fail to notify the Sun family of Liu Bei's arrival. Right now, however, he was just as much on edge as Liu Bei, and just as ready to turn back and go home – the rain was making him miserable. He prayed that something would show up soon…

The distant cry of a lookout startled him. "_Sail ahoy!_ _Dead ahead!_"

"What is it?" bellowed the captain of the _Jolly Phoenix_.

"A merchant ship!"

Liu Bei and Zhao Yun rushed to the head of the ship and strained to see through the veil of rain. Sure enough, the dark shadow of a ship's stern hovered uncertainly before them. The lookout, however, had not been entirely correct: as if by magic, more and more shadows came into view – and entire fleet of merchant ships.

"Merchant ships!" exclaimed Liu Bei bitterly. "Not warships or dignitaries' ships. What on earth is going on?"

Zhao Yun shrugged, feeling just as helpless and lost as Liu Bei. As he pondered desperately about what to do, his thoughts drifted to the three little boxes tucked in his waist piece. Weren't they for emergencies just like this one now?"

Open these when you fall into a situation that you _absolutely without a doubt_ cannot get out of, Zhuge Liang had admonished.

Oh well, thought Zhao Yun, we are all stumped now anyway. He felt around in his waist piece and pulled out the box containing Plan the First. The carving of the goldfish, oddly enough, emboldened him to open it: had Zhuge Liang meant it to be a symbolic coincidence?

"What is that?" asked Liu Bei, looking over Zhao Yun's shoulder as the general carefully undid the latch on the box and pulled out the oilskin pouch inside.

Within the oilskin pouch was a sheaf of parchment, bearing just the following words:

_Follow the merchant fleet into Xia Kou._

"If that's what Zhuge Liang wants us to do," said Zhao Yun, "I guess we ought to listen to him."

If not for the seriousness of the situation, Liu Bei's expression would have been comical – it was a violent blend of relief and thunderous anger.

"All right, I suppose," he growled. "We'll listen to him just this once!"

OoOoOoOoOo

Many miles away, Sun Quan and Zhou Yu stood atop the rickety wooden tower known as Outpost Five, glaring off into the watery distance, equally drenched and miserable.

"I don't see it," snarled the prince.

"There," said Zhou Yu, pointing to the faint impression of a ship floating far off to the east. "They were right. See the pennant?"

"No," said Quan sullenly – his eyes weren't as good as Zhou Yu's. "I guess I'll take your word for it."

"But I don't understand, Zhongmou – they're not heading for the city."

"What do you mean?"

"Jian Ye's only a mile east of us. Assuming they've been sailing east this entire time, they've passed it long ago."

Sun Quan raised an eyebrow. "Maybe he's _not_ planning to call on us?"

"Sirs!" gasped a voice, and another messenger emerged on the deck, panting from having climbed the sixty-foot ladder as fast as possible. "New reports from the eastern shore watch – the ship is apparently headed for Xia Kou."

Zhou Yu rounded on him. "What? How do you know?"

"It's following the merchant fleet into port," explained the messenger, cowering as Zhou Yu loomed over him. "We can't but assume that it's calling on Xia Kou as well."

"Oh God!" exclaimed Sun Quan, horrified. "That's a huge port! Everyone will see them, and the generals, and the officials stationed there, and – "

"We have to control this," said Zhou Yu desperately. "My entire plan hinges upon Liu Bei's arrival going unnoticed. If your father finds out – "

"You don't have to tell me what'll happen," snapped Sun Quan, his rudeness betraying his fright. "Let's beat it to Xia Kou – "

"No - we need to find Lu Xun. Now."

Quan threw his arms in the air in exasperation. "What does that matter?!"

"If he goes to your father and tells all – "

"Begging your pardon, sir," interrupted the messenger timidly, "I passed General Lu on the main road east of Jian Ye. I think he was headed toward Xia Kou."

The two men exchanged a desperate look before scrambling for the ladder.

OoOoOoOoOo

Next: Will Sun Quan and Zhou Yu manage to keep Liu Bei's arrival a secret, or will Lu Xun – or Sun Jian, or Liu Bei himself - blow their plan to bits? Drama and hilarity are in store.

Note on styles: Zhongmou is Sun Quan's "style name," just as Gonjin is Zhou Yu's and Kongming is Zhuge Liang's.

Please review!


End file.
